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SANKEY'S STORY OF 
THE GOSPEL HYMNS 

Jlnd of SACRED SONGS AND SOLOS 



By IRA D. SANKEY 



With an Introduction by 
THEODORE L. CUYLER 



PHILADELPHIA 

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL TIMES COMPANY 

1906 



3$J 



SI 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

FEB 14 1906 

lyriytit Entry „ 



' COPY B,' V 



CLASS 



Copyright, 1906, by The Sunday School Times Company. 

Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, 1906. 

Entered according to the Act of Parliament of Canada, in the 

year 1906, by The Sunday School Times Company 

at the Department of Agriculture. 



Nachdruck verboten, Ueber?etzungs Recht vorbehalten. 



INTRODUCTION 

The deep interest I have always taken in the sub- 
ject of hymnology, and my warm personal affection 
for the author of this volume, are my warrant for be- 
speaking for it a warm and hearty welcome. If ever a 
man was raised and endowed for a special work by 
our Divine Master, that man is Ira D. Sankey. His 
work has been of a twofold character. Before his day 
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs had always 
been an important part of the services of religious 
worship throughout Christendom. 

But he introduced a peculiar style of popular 
hymns which are calculated to awaken the careless, 
to melt the hardened, and to guide inquiring souls to 
the Lord Jesus Christ. In the next place, he sang 
these powerful revival-hymns himself, and became 
as effective a preacher of the gospel of salvation by 
song as his associate, Dwight L. Moody, was by ser- 
mon. The multitudes who heard his rich and inspir- 
ing voice in "The Ninety and Nine," "Jesus of 
Nazareth Passeth By" and "When the Mists Have 
Rolled Away" will testify to the prodigious power with 
which the Holy Spirit gave him utterance. While he 
has had many successors, he was the pioneer. 

This position which our beloved Brother Sankey 
holds before the whole Christian world fitted him to 
prepare such a volume as this valuable addition to 



iv Introduction 

hymnology. It is the simple but sublime story of the 
quickening, converting and sanctifying power of sacred 
song. It adds a new and thrilling chapter to the tri- 
umph of the Cross. It is a precious legacy by a faith- 
ful veteran of Jesus Christ to his fellow-soldiers in all 
lands who are battling for the cause and crown of the 
glorious Captain of our salvation, and who "wait for 
his appearing." 

Theodore L. Cuyler. 

Brooklyn, New York, 
November, igoj. 



PREFACE 

Since Moses and the children of Israel, on the 
shore of the Red Sea, sang of their deliverance from 
the hand of Pharaoh, saying : " I will sing unto the 
Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously ; the horse and 
his rider hath he thrown into the sea," there has never 
been any great religious movement without the use of 
sacred song. Luther set all Germany ablaze with 
religious enthusiasm as he sang his magnificent hymn, 
" Ein' Feste Burg," in which Melanchthon and multi- 
tudes of Christian soldiers joined. In later years the 
church of God was thrilled by the sermons of John 
Wesley and the songs of his brother Charles, whose 
hymns are more extensively used throughout Chris- 
tendom than any others. After the Wesleys came 
Charles G. Finney, who, although he did not use the 
service of song as much as others, yet as a preacher 
was one of the mightiest men of his day. Later came 
E. P. Hammond, the children's evangelist, who gave 
the praise service an especially important place in his 
work. 

Then, in 1873, God was pleased to send Mr. 
Moody and myself to Great Britain, where a work 
of grace was begun that has continued until the pres- 
ent day. About the same time Whittle and Bliss were 
doing a remarkable work in the United States, Bliss 
becoming one of the greatest song-evangelists of that 



vi Preface 

age. For the last two or three years we have had the 
splendid campaign of Torrey and Alexander in Aus- 
tralia and Great Britain. In their work the prominent 
feature has been the use of praise, their most popular 
hymn being " The Glory Song," which perhaps is the 
most generally used Gospel song of the day. 

We all agree with what Dr. Pentecost has said re- 
garding the power of sacred song : " I am profoundly 
sure that among the divinely ordained instrumental- 
ities for the conversion and sanctification of the soul, 
God has not given a greater, besides the preaching of 
the Gospel, than the singing of psalms and hymns and 
spiritual songs. I have known a hymn to do God's 
work in a soul when every other instrumentality has 
failed. I could not enumerate the times God has 
rescued and saved my soul from darkness, discourage- 
ment and weariness by the singing of a hymn, gener- 
ally by bringing one to my own heart and causing me 
to sing it to myself. It would be easy to fill many 
pages with interesting facts in connection with the use 
of hymns in the public worship of the house of God. 
I have seen vast audiences melted and swayed by a 
simple hymn when they have been unmoved by a pow- 
erful presentation of the gospel from the pulpit." 

For many years past I have been collecting and 
writing up the history of hymns, and incidents con- 
nected with their composition and their use by Mr. 
Moody and myself, as well as by others ; but in 1901, 
when the manuscript of these stories was almost com- 
pleted, it was unfortunately destroyed in the fire that 
devastated the great Sanitarium at Battle Creek, 
Michigan, where I was at that time a guest of my 



Preface vii 

friend Dr. J. H. Kellogg. In view of the regret which 
was expressed by my friends over this loss, and the 
interest taken by the people who sing our hymns, I 
decided to rewrite the story from memory, as far as I 
was able. The present series is the result. 

I am indebted to the Rev. John Julian, the Rev. 
S. W. Duffield and the Rev. E. S. Lorenz, from whose 
works I have collected some dates and incidents ; also 
to my faithful nurse, Mr. Charles G. Rosewall, for aid 
in compiling and writing this book. In the prepara- 
tion of the old original manuscript I was especially 
indebted to my friend, Mr. Oliver H. Shiras, for his 
able assistance. 

Ira D. Sankey. 

Brooklyn, New York, 
January, 1906. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Portrait of Ira D. San key Frontispiece 

Portrait of D. L. Moody Facing page 8 

Mr. Sankey in Spurgeon's Tabernacle, 

London Facing page 102 



SANKEY'S STORY 
OF HIS OWN LIFE 



SANKEY'S STORY OF HIS 
OWN LIFE 

I was born in the village of Edinburg, on the Ma- 
honing River in Western Pennsylvania, August 28, 
1840. My father, the Hon. David Sankey, and my 
mother, Mary, resided in Edinburg until I was six 
years of age, when they removed to what was then 
known as Western Reserve Harbor, where my father 
engaged in the forwarding and commission business 
near the head waters of the Shenango River. 

From there my father later moved to a farm near 
by, where I grew up, assisting in the farm work. Here 
my father was elected to the State Legislature, in which 
he continued for a period of thirteen years. I received 
the usual school privileges which fell to the lot of boys 
and girls of those days. The very first recollection I 
have of anything pertaining to a holy life was in con- 
nection with a Mr. Frazer. I recall how he took me 
by the hand and led me with his own children to the 
Sunday-school held in the old schoolhouse. I shall 
remember this to my dying day. He had a warm heart 
and the children all loved him. It was not until some 
years after that I was converted, at the age of sixteen, 
while attending revival meetings at a church known 
as The King's Chapel, about three miles from my 
home, but my first impressions were received from that 
man when I was very young. 

3 



4 Sankeyi's Story 

In 1857 our family removed to Newcastle, where 
my father assumed the presidency of the bank. Here 
I attended the high-school, where every opportunity 
was given to study such of the higher branches as the 
student might have a taste for, and later I took a posi- 
tion in the bank. On arriving at Newcastle I joined 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. Soon I was elected 
superintendent of the Sunday-school and leader of the 
choir. 

It was here that my voice began to attract atten- 
tion, and before long the Sunday-school overflowed 
with people who came to hear the singing. In this 
way, though unconsciously, I was making preparation 
for the work in which I was to spend my life. 

In the spring of i860, on the call of President Lin- 
coln for men to sustain the Government, I was among 
the first in Newcastle to have my name enrolled as a 
soldier. My company was sent to Maryland. Re- 
ligious services were held in the camp, and I was often 
called upon to lead the singing. I soon found several 
other young men who had the same gift. In a short 
time the people around us also learned that there were 
some good singers in the Union camp, and we were 
frequently invited out by families who had heard of 
the singing of the "boys in blue." At the expiration 
of my term as a soldier I did not re-enter the army, but 
returned to Newcastle to assist my father, who had 
been appointed by Abraham Lincoln as a collector of 
internal revenue. 

In 1863, on the 9th of September, I married a 
member of my choir — Miss Fanny V. Edwards, a 
daughter of the Hon. John Edwards. She has been a 



Of His Own Life 5 

blessing and a helpmate to me throughout my life and 
in all my work. 

My services as a singer became much in demand 
in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio for Sun- 
day-school conventions and political gatherings. In 
1867, when I was twenty-seven years old, a branch of 
the Young Men's Christian Association was organized 
at Newcastle, of which I was at that time elected sec- 
retary and later president. The first meetings were 
held in a small hired room. From that modest begin- 
ning, by the help of God, I was later enabled to give 
to the city a Young Men's Christian Association build- 
ing, including gymnasium, library and bathrooms, in 
all costing more than $40,000, by means of money real- 
ized from the sale of "Gospel Hymns." Not far from 
this building, on Jefferson Street, I bought a beautiful 
lot for my old church, on which to erect a new struc- 
ture, and later I assisted Bishop Vincent to raise the 
necessary funds, so that the new church was dedicated 
without any debt. My father and mother were mem- 
bers of this church until they passed away. 

In 1870, with two or three others, I was appointed 
a delegate to the International Convention of the Asso- 
ciation, to be held at Indianapolis that year. It was 
announced that Moody would lead a morning prayer- 
meeting at 7 o'clock. I was rather late, and therefore 
sat down near the door with a Presbyterian minister, 
the Rev. Robert McMillan, a delegate from my own 
county, who said to me, " Mr. Sankey, the singing 
here has been abominable ; I wish you would start up 
something when that man stops praying, if he ever 
does." I promised him to do so, and when opportu- 



6 Sankeys Story 

nity offered I sang the familiar hymn, " There is a 
fountain filled with blood." The congregation joined 
heartily and a brighter aspect seemed to be given to 
the meeting. 

At the conclusion of the meeting Mr. McMillan 
said to me : "Let me introduce you to Mr. Moody." 
We joined the little procession of persons who were 
going up to shake hands with him, and thus I met for 
the first time the man with whom, in the providence 
of God, I was to be associated for the remainder of 
his life, or nearly thirty years. 

Moody's first words to me, after my introduction, 
were, " Where are you from ? Are you married ? 
What is your business ? " Upon telling him that I 
lived in Pennsylvania, was married, had two children, 
and was in the government employ, he said abruptly, 
" You will have to give that up." 

I stood amazed, at a loss to understand why the 
man told me that I would have to give up what I con- 
sidered a good position. "What for?" I exclaimed. 

" To come to Chicago and help me in my work," 
was the answer. 

When I told him that I could not leave my busi- 
ness, he retorted, "You must; I have been looking 
for you for the last eight years." 

I answered that I would think the matter over; 
but as yet I had no thought of giving up my position. 
Mr. Moody then asked me if I would go with him 
and pray over the matter, and to this I consented — 
cut of politeness. After the prayer we parted, and 
I returned to my room, much impressed by Mr. 
Moody's prayer, but still undecided. 



Of His Own Life 7 

The next day I received a card from Mr. Moody 
asking if I would meet him on a certain street corner 
that evening at six o'clock. At that hour I was at 
the place named, with a few of my friends. In a few 
minutes Moody came along. 

Without stopping to speak, he passed on into a 
store near by, and asked permission to use a large 
store-box. The permission was granted ; he rolled 
the box into the street, and calling me aside, asked 
me to get up on the box and sing something. 

" Am I a soldier of the cross ? " soon gathered a 
considerable crowd. After the song, Mr. Moody 
climbed up on the box and began to talk. The work- 
ingmen were just going home from the mills and the 
factories, and in a short time a very large crowd had 
gathered. The people stood spellbound as the words 
fell from Moody's lips with wonderful force and rap- 
idity. When he had spoken for some twenty-five 
minutes he announced that the meeting would be 
continued at the Opera House, and invited the people 
to accompany us there. He asked me to lead the 
way, and with my friends sing some familiar hymn. 
This we did, singing as we marched down the street, 
" Shall we gather at the river." The men with the 
dinner-pails followed closely on our heels instead of 
going home, so completely were they carried away by 
the sermon from the store-box. 

The Opera House was packed to the doors, and 
Moody first saw that all the workingmen were seated 
before he ascended to the platform to speak. His 
second address was as captivating as the one delivered 
on the street corner, and it was not until the delegates 



8 Sankey's Story 

had arrived for the evening session of the convention 
that Mr. Moody closed the meeting, saying, " Now we 
must close, as the brethren of the convention wish to 
come in to discuss the question, ' How to reach the 
masses.' " Here was a man who could successfully 
reach the masses while others were talking about it. 

When Mr. Moody again brought up the question 
of our going into the work together, I was still unde- 
cided. After a delay of over six months, and much 
urging on Mr. Moody's part, I consented to spend a 
week with him ; and before that week was over I had 
sent my resignation to Mr. Hugh McCullough, at that 
time Secretary of the Treasury, and the position which 
I had held was, at my request, given to a "buck- 
tail" soldier who had escaped from Libby Prison. 

We thus commenced work together in Chicago in 
the early part of 1871, visiting poor and needy ones 
of Mr. Moody's little flock, singing and praying with 
the sick, speaking and singing at the daily noon 
prayer-meetings, and other work, until Mr. Moody's 
church was destroyed in the Chicago fire. 

Sunday evening, October 8, 1871, we were hold- 
ing a meeting in Farwell Hall, which was crowded to 
the doors. At the close of his address Mr. Moody 
asked me to sing a solo, and standing by the great 
organ at the rear of the platform I began the old, fa- 
miliar hymn, " To-day the Saviour calls." By the time 
I had reached the third verse, 

"To-day the Saviour calls: 
For refuge fly; 
The storm of justice falls, 
And death is nigh," 




A^.% 



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<f-+y 



Of His Own Life 9 

my voice was drowned by the loud noise of the fire 
engines rushing past the hall and the tolling of bells, 
among which we could hear, ever and anon, the deep, 
sullen tones of the great city bell, in the steeple of the 
old court-house close at hand, ringing out a general 
alarm. 

Tremendous confusion was heard in the streets, 
and Mr. Moody decided to close the meeting at once, 
for the audience was becoming restless and alarmed. 
As the people dispersed, I went with Mr. Moody down 
the small back stairway leading into the old Arcade 
Court, and from our position there we watched the 
reflection of the fire, half a mile away, on the west 
side of the city, as it cast its ominous glare against the 
sky. After a few moments we separated, I to go over 
the river to where the fire was raging, and he to his 
home on the North Side. We did not meet again for 
more than two months. 

On reaching the scene of the fire I found a whole 
block of small frame buildings burning fiercely, and 
with others I assisted in tearing down some board 
fences, to try to keep the fire from spreading to the 
adjoining territory. While thus engaged, the wind 
from the southwest had risen almost to a hurricane, 
and the flying embers from the falling buildings were 
quickly caught up and carried high upon the roofs of 
the houses adjoining, which were soon in flames. Thus 
the fire spread from building to building, and from 
block to block, until it was evident that the city was 
doomed. All this time the fire was moving in the di- 
rection of Farwell Hall and the business center of the 
city. 



io Sankeys Story 

I now gave up the fight, and made haste to recross 
the river, hurrying back to my quarters — my living 
room and office — in the Farwell Hall Building. The 
fire followed so rapidly that several times I had to 
shake from my coat the falling embers. Arriving at 
the hall, I gathered up a number of belongings which 
I especially wished to save, and, placing them close 
to the door of my office, went out to find a convey- 
ance so as to transfer them to a place of safety. It was 
now between one and two o'clock in the morning, and 
not a carriage or truck could be found in the streets. 

While still looking for a conveyance I saw in the 
distance, coming up Clark Street, a horse attached 
to an express wagon, running at full speed, without a 
driver, and ten or fifteen men running after it trying 
to capture the animal. I made a dash for the flying 
steed, but in turning from one street into another he 
slipped and fell, and in a moment a crowd of men were 
on top of him, each claiming the right of possession. 
Not caring to share in the contest, I returned to the 
hall, and commenced the task of carrying my effects 
toward Lake Michigan, half a mile distant. 

On the way to the lake I passed the present loca- 
tion of the Palmer House, then being erected, the 
foundation of which had only been built to the level 
of the street. Believing that the rooms and under- 
ground passages would afford a temporary place of 
security for some of my things, I walked on a plank 
down into the cellar, and hid two large valises in the 
darkest corner I could find. As yet, only a few people 
were moving out of their homes in this section of the 
city, and, as I noticed the seeming indifference of those 



Of His Own Life 1 1 

who had come to the windows of their houses, I called 
out to them to escape for their lives, as the city was 
doomed to destruction. Some became alarmed ; others 
laughed me to scorn. 

I returned to the hall for another load of my be- 
longings, and after securing all I could carry, started 
in a more direct route for the lake, the streets being 
lit up by the glare of the oncoming conflagration. After 
getting about half-way to the shore, I stopped and 
deposited my burden on the front steps of a fine resi- 
dence I was passing, thinking I would soon return 
and find them there. Again, for the third time, I went 
back to my rooms, and gathering up a few more arti- 
cles started for the stone steps. I found, however, 
on reaching the house, that the things I had left there 
were covered several feet deep with other people's 
belongings, and I never saw them again. 

By this time the people were fully awake, rushing 
about the street, or anxiously looking out of their 
windows and from the tops of their houses in the 
direction of the fire. I could not help thinking of the 
Bible story of the destruction of the Cities of the Plain 
in the long ago, as many still made light of those who 
said the city would be destroyed. The air was filled 
with flying sparks of fire, resembling a spring snow- 
storm, when the sky is filled with huge, falling flakes. 

As I pressed on, two men carrying a sick man on a 
stretcher overtook me. After passing a short distance 
ahead, they stopped and laid him by the side of the 
street, as the invalid, being quite sure the city would 
not be destroyed, did not wish to be carried farther. 
As soon as the carriers had been paid ofT and dis- 



12 Sankeys Story 

charged I employed them to assist me in carrying 
my effects to the lakeside ; but before we reached our 
destination, in looking southward, they saw that the 
fire was sweeping through the southeastern section of 
the city, where they lived. Dropping my goods in the 
middle of the street, and without waiting for com- 
pensation, they rushed away to secure their own 
homes. 

Again I secured help, and at last reached the lake, 
where I deposited my trunks and possessions close by 
the edge of the water, with the thought that if the 
flames came to the edge of the lake I would walk into 
the water and be saved from the heat. Remember- 
ing my first attempt at carrying my goods away from 
Farwell Hall, I returned to the Palmer House block, 
to secure, if possible, my first cargo, very much fear- 
ing that the things would not be there when I reached 
the place, as I thought some night wanderer might 
have noticed my leaving them and appropriated them 
to his own use. Much to my joy, I found them still 
there, and carried them away to the lake. 

By this time I was greatly exhausted, and almost 
famished for want of water, that along the shore not 
being fit to drink. I asked another refugee, who was 
in like case with myself, watching his little store of 
precious things, if he would look out for mine while I 
returned into the city to get some water to drink. 
The man consenting, I went back to Wabash Avenue, 
one of the finest residential streets in the city, and, 
entering one of the large houses, asked if I might have 
some water. I was told to go into the rear of the 
building and get all I wished. I found a faucet, but, 



Of His Own Life 1 3 

on attempting to draw water, air rushed out instead. 
This was my first intimation that the water-works, two 
miles to the northward, had been destroyed. A few 
minutes later I heard a terrific explosion, which 
seemed to shake the city, and was told that the city 
gas-works had blown up. 

Things began to look very desperate — no water, 
no light in the houses, and the city in flames ! I made 
my way back again to the lake, and wrapping myself 
in a great' overcoat, lay down behind one of the large 
trunks which I had saved. Thus sheltered from the 
wind, I slept for an hour. On awaking I could hear 
the rush and roar of the fire coming nearer and nearer. 
The sun, slowly rising out of the waters of the lake, 
seemed like a red ball of fire. The wind had not fallen, 
and huge waves were breaking on the shore at my feet. 

I now felt that I must have water to drink, and, 
after wandering along the shore for some distance, 
found some small rowboats, and asked a man near 
by, who seemed to be their owner, if I might have one 
to go out into the lake for fresh water. " Yes," he 
said ; " if you can manage the boat you can have it, 
as we are not likely to have much more boating in this 
section for some time to come." So I took possession 
of one, and rowed down to where my goods were de- 
posited. Rolling them on board, I made my way out 
into the lake, passing through the piling on which 
the railway was built, in front of the city. After get- 
ting my boat through the piling, I rowed out far 
enough to find fresh water. Then, tying my boat to 
some timbers that were being used for the erection of 
a new breakwater, I climbed up on the pile of lumber 



14 Sankey's Story 

and for several hours watched the destruction of the 
city. Every few minutes a loud explosion would 
occur. I afterwards learned that these were caused 
by the blowing up of buildings — by order of General 
Sheridan, who was in the city at the time — so as to 
form a barrier against the fire and prevent its spread- 
ing to the southward. 

It was interesting to watch the tramps and thieves 
carrying away on their backs large bales of silk and 
satin goods which they had taken from the burning 
stores in the wholesale district. Most of them fol- 
lowed the railway track southward, not knowing that 
at the place where the track reached the land a com- 
pany of fire insurance agents were waiting with open 
arms to relieve them of their burdens. 

The day wore away, but the city was still burning, 
and, as the sun was sinking in the west, a song came 
into my mind which I had been singing a few days 
before in Mr. Moody's large Sunday-school on the 
North Side, and I sang it through as I sat there, with 
the waves beating about me. The first verse was as 
follows : 

"Dark is the night, and cold the wind is blowing, 
Nearer and nearer comes the breakers' roar; 
Where shall I go, or whither fly for refuge? 
Hide me, my Father, till the storm is o'er." 

I finally determined to get back to land, but was 
not aware of the fact that the riding of my boat upon 
the waves had almost sawn asunder the line with 
which it was attached to the timber. As I jumped 
into the boat the line broke, and I was swept out into 
the lake, the waves sweeping over my little bark. 



Of His Own Life 1 5 

For a moment I was in real danger of being lost, but 
I soon had the boat under control, and, after a few 
moments of hard work, reached the shore in safety. 

I then secured a drayman, who for the sum of ten 
dollars agreed to carry me and my effects to the un- 
burned end of the Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway 
if he could find it. He succeeded. I checked my 
goods for my home in the East, secured some refresh- 
ments at a near-by restaurant, and went back into the 
burnt district. Farwell Hall was gone, and every 
building in that part of the city had disappeared. 
The paved streets, covered with hot bricks and long 
coils of burnt and twisted telegraph wire, told some- 
thing of the awful story. Most of the substance of 
these great buildings had actually been carried away 
by the hot air into the water of Lake Michigan. 

After seeing something of the fearful destruction 
wrought by the conflagration, I made my way through 
the heated streets to the railway, and took an outgoing 
train for my home in Pennsylvania. As we left the 
city it seemed as though the whole country was on fire ; 
in all directions we could see huge banks of flame 
sweeping across the prairies, and the air was filled to 
suffocation with smoke. 

I was soon able to telegraph home of my safety 
and speedy return. It seemed as though this would 
end my work in Chicago, but two months later Mr. 
Moody telegraphed me to return and help him in the 
new temporary "Tabernacle," which had by that time 
been erected. On my return to Chicago I learned that 
Mr. Moody, after reaching his home on the North 
Side, had aroused his sleeping neighbors, assisted men 



1 6 Sankeys Story 

and women into conveyances, and urged them to flee 
for their lives. As the billows of fire came nearer 
and nearer, Mr. Moody, with his wife and children, 
made his way into the northwestern district to a place 
of safety beyond the fire line. Before leaving her 
home Mrs. Moody took down from the wall an oil 
painting of her husband and asked him to carry it 
with him ; but he declined, saying that he did not think 
it would look well for him to be running through the 
streets of Chicago with his picture in his arms at such 
a time! Speaking of the fire to a friend some time 
later, Mr. Moody remarked : 

" All I saved was my Bible, my family and my 
reputation." 

We continued to hold services and to help the 
poor and needy who had lost everything in the fire. 
We slept together in a corner of the new Tabernacle, 
with nothing for a bed but a single lounge, and fre- 
quently the fierce prairie winds would blow the drifting 
snow into our room. 

In October of 1872 I moved my family to Chicago, 
and in the same year Mr. Moody went on his second 
trip to England, leaving me in charge of the work at 
the Tabernacle, assisted by Major Whittle, Richard 
Thain, Fleming H. Revell, and others. There were 
conversions in the church and Sunday-school every 
week. 

After Mr. Moody's return we accepted an invita- 
tion to go to Springfield, Illinois, to hold services, 
which were attended with great blessing. Indeed, it 
seemed that if we had remained and thus worked in 
our own country a great revival would have taken 



Of His Own Life 1 7 

place. On our way to Springfield the train stopped 
at a station near Chicago, where a great crowd was 
assembled on the platform. Mr. Moody sat by an 
open window. Near by stood a tall, gaunt-looking 
countryman, with his hands in his pockets, looking 
at Mr. Moody through the window. Mr. Moody asked 
him what the crowd meant, and the man replied : 

" Oh, the folks have just come down to see the 
cars." 

" Did you know that General Grant was on the 
train ? " Mr. Moody inquired. 

" Oh, is he ? " the man exclaimed. 

Mr. Moody, with a smile, told him that he was 
not. Quite nonplussed, the man walked down the 
platform a little way, but returned in a little while and 
said: 

" Hello, Mister ! We had a great time in town 
last night." 

" How was that ? " asked Mr. Moody. 

" There was a woman here, and they wouldn't 
bury her." 

"Why wouldn't they bury her?" Mr. Moody 
asked. 

" Because she wasn't dead," the man smilingly an- 
swered, to the great amusement of his friends. 

Mr. Moody turned to me and said : " Sankey, put 
that window down!" 

About this time my friend Philip Phillips re- 
turned from Europe, where he had been singing for 
one hundred nights in succession. He came to Chi- 
cago and stopped with me. He made a very enticing 
offer, including a large salary and all expenses, if I 



1 8 Sankey s Story 

would go with him to the Pacific coast and there assist 
him in his services of song. I wouldn't promise any- 
thing until I had spent some hours in consultation and 
prayer with my friend, Mr. Moody ; the result was that 
I remained with him. 

In June, 1873, we sailed for England, Mr. Moody 
taking his wife and children with him, and my wife 
accompanying me, having left our two children with 
their grandparents. The voyage was uneventful, but 
on arriving at Liverpool Mr. Moody received letters 
informing him that both Mr. Pennefather and Mr. 
Bainbridge, the two men who had invited us to come 
to England, were dead. 

Neither of us had any money, and the situation 
looked anything but cheerful. Turning to me, Mr. 
Moody said, " Sankey, it seems as if God has closed 
the door for us, and if he will not open it we will 
return to America at once." 

But as Mr. Moody was looking over some letters 
which he had received in New York before sailing, 
and which had remained unread, he found one 
from the secretary of the Young Men's Christian 
Association at York, asking him if he ever came to 
England again, to come there and speak for the Asso- 
ciation. " Here is a door," said Moody to me after 
reading the letter, " which is partly open, and we will 
go there and begin our work." 

Mr. Bennett, this Association secretary, secured 
for our use a vacant chapel, but said that he hardly 
thought it worth while for us to commence work, as 
nearly all the people were off at the seaside. " Sankey, 
write out a little notice," said Mr. Moody, turning to 



Of His Own Life 19 

me ; " we will have some handbills struck off." And 
the notice read as follows : 

EVANGELISTIC SERVICES 
D. L. Moody of Chicago will preach, and Ira D. Sankey 
of Chicago will sing, at 7 o'clock P. M. to-morrow, Thurs- 
day, and each succeeding evening for a week, in the Inde- 
pendent Chapel. All are welcome. No collection. 

The first meeting was attended by less than fifty 
persons, who took seats as far away from the pulpit as 
possible. I sang several solos before Mr. Moody's 
address, and that was my first service of song in Eng- 
land. It was with some difficulty that I could get the 
people to sing, as they had not been accustomed to 
the kind of songs that I was using. 

The next evening there was an attendance of 
about two hundred persons. It was while these serv- 
ices were held at York that the now eminent minister 
of London, the Rev. F. B. Meyer, received a great 
spiritual quickening, according to his own testimony. 
From this small beginning the attendance of our 
meetings continued to increase, until not less than 
twenty thousand persons attended the meetings at the 
Agricultural Hall, London. 

The most effective solo used at this time was 
"Jesus of Nazareth passeth by," which I sang from a 
small scrap-book of special pieces prepared for my own 
use. The demand for copies of this song became so 
great that I had a large number of copies of the words 
printed to supply those who wished to have them, but 
this supply was soon exhausted, and it became evident 
that something must be done to furnish hymns and 
tunes for our meetings. 



20 Sankeys Story 

After remaining at York five weeks, we were in- 
vited to go to Sunderland, on the northern coast of 
England, and while there I wrote to London, offering 
to give my selection of songs to the publishers of 
Philip Phillips' hymn-book, "Hallowed Songs," free 
of charge, if they would print them. This they re- 
spectfully declined. About this time R. C. Morgan, 
one of the publishers and proprietors of "The London 
Christian," came to Sunderland to write up the work, 
and on hearing of the declination of the other publish- 
ers to take the hymns, offered to take them and pub- 
lish them in small pamphlet form. So I cut from my 
scrap-book twenty-three pieces, rolled them up, and 
wrote on them the words, " Sacred Songs and Solos, 
sung by Ira D. Sankey at the meetings of Mr. Moody 
of Chicago." This book, together with the edition of 
words only, has now grown into a volume of twelve 
hundred pieces, and up to the present time has had 
possibly the largest sale of any book except the Bible. 

During all our campaigns abroad it was our cus- 
tom to rest on Saturdays, and to make excursions into 
the country on that day, whenever it was convenient. 
While at Sunderland, one Saturday, we took a cab and 
drove a few miles northward along the seashore. Com- 
ing to an almost perpendicular cliff rising hundreds of 
feet above the level of the sea, we descended by a stair- 
way to the beach below. For a while we enjoyed our- 
selves by walking along the shore, examining the beau- 
tiful shells left exposed by the tide, which had gone 
out before we arrived. Our attention was soon ar- 
rested by some one shouting from the top of the cliff. 
We saw a man wildly beckoning to us to return. On 



Of His Own Life 2 1 

looking around we discovered that the tide had risen 
and had filled a deep channel between us and the stair- 
way. It was clear that we had no time to lose. Mr. 
Moody suggested that I should plunge in and lead the 
way toward the cliff as quickly as possible, and while 
I did so he stood looking on, convulsed with laughter 
at my frantic strides through the water over the slip- 
pery stones. But I reached a place of safety. Then 
the tables were turned, and it was my opportunity to 
enjoy a sight not soon to be forgotten, as my friend 
slowly and with considerable difficulty waded through 
the constantly rising water to the place where I stood. 
We were to hold a Bible-reading that afternoon at 
three o'clock. Not having time to go to our lodgings 
for a change of clothing, we at once proceeded to the 
place of the meeting, and we held the service in our 
wet clothes and shoes. 

It was a dismal night in November, 1873, when 
our train rolled into the station in the city of Edin- 
burgh. Desiring to avoid the formality of a reception 
at the hands of the committee and friends who had 
invited us to conduct a series of evangelistic meetings 
in their city, we had refrained from notifying them as 
to the hour of our arrival. Securing public cabs from 
the numerous array massed about the station, we were 
soon rattling along the well-lighted streets to the 
places where we were to abide. 

I had selected a hotel on the principal street, not 
far from the Walter Scott monument, and after being 
assigned my room walked out on the crowded thor- 
oughfare for a stroll. I had not proceeded half a 
block when a hand was laid on my shoulder, and a 



22 Sankey s Story 

voice said, "Ah, Mr. Sankey, is this you? When did 
you arrive, and where is Mr. Moody ? " 

I gave the desired information in a few words 
and then made bold to ask, "And, pray, who are you? " 

" The chairman of your committee," he re- 
sponded. "And I've been waiting for days to hear 
when you would arrive. Come away. You're not to 
be stopping at a public hotel when there are a hundred 
homes ready to receive you." 

So, hurrying me into a cab, and arranging with 
the hotel-keeper to release my room, I was soon wel- 
comed into one of the most delightful homes in all 
Edinburgh. It was while abiding in this house that I 
wrote the music of my first Gospel song. 

Our first meeting in Edinburgh was advertised to 
be held on Sunday evening, November 23, and long 
before the hour for commencing the service arrived 
the whole building was densely packed to its utmost 
corners ; even the lobbies, stairs, and entrance were 
crowded with people, while more than two thousand 
were turned away. 

The first announcement made was a sad disap- 
pointment to the congregation, for it was that Mr. 
Moody could not be present, he having contracted a 
severe cold the day before, while on the train en route 
from Carlisle. It was further announced that Mr. 
Sankey would conduct the service of song, and the 
Rev. J. H. Wilson would preach. 

This was indeed a trying hour for the singer. 
Much had been said and written in Scotland against 
the use of " human hymns " in public worship, and even 
more had been uttered against the employment of the 



Of His Own Life 23 

" kist o' whistles," the term by which they desig- 
nated the small cabinet organ I employed as an ac- 
companiment to my voice. 

A goodly number of ministers and prominent lay- 
men were present. After the opening prayer, I asked 
all to join in singing a portion of the One Hundredth 
Psalm. To this they responded with a will, as it was 
safe and common ground for all denominations, and 
no questions were raised as to Mr. Rouse having in- 
troduced anything " human " into David's version as 
found in the Bible. This was followed by reading the 
Scriptures and prayer. 

The service having been thus opened in regular 
order, we now faced the problem of "singing the 
Gospel" — a term first devised and used by the Rev. 
Arthur A. Rees of Sunderland, England, some months 
before, in advertising our meetings in that city, and 
since then much discussed in Scotland. The song 
selected for my first solo was "Jesus of Nazareth 
passeth by." The intense silence that pervaded that 
great audience during the singing of this song at once 
assured me that even " human hymns," sung in a 
prayerful spirit, were indeed likely to be used of God 
to arrest attention and convey Gospel truth to the 
hearts of men in bonny Scotland, even as they had in 
other places. 

After a powerful address by Dr. Wilson, and a 
closing prayer, I was requested to sing another solo. 
Selecting "Hold the Fort," then comparatively new 
in Edinburgh, the audience was requested to join in 
singing the chorus, " Hold the fort, for I am coming," 
which they did with such heartiness and such power 



24 Sankey's Story 

that I was further convinced that Gospel songs would 
prove as useful and acceptable to the masses in Edin- 
burgh as they had in the cities of York and Newcastle 
in England. 

In our meetings held prior to entering Scotland, 
it had been our custom to have the committee in 
charge of the various meetings — often three and four, 
in different localities, in a day — see that organs were 
placed in the halls and chapels ready for use. In 
Edinburgh we failed to inform the committee that upon 
them would devolve the matter of placing the organs 
in each hall and church as needed. The consequence 
of this oversight was that at our second meeting, held 
in Barclay Free Church, there was no organ provided, 
and therefore we could have no solo singing or Gospel 
hymns. 

When the committee discovered, about the hour for 
commencing the service, that the organ was not pres- 
ent, but away off at the Music Hall, they immediately 
sent a deputation after the missing instrument, who re- 
turned with speed, the deputation inside and the organ 
en top of the conveyance. 

They hoped to arrive at the meeting in season for 
the closing exercises, and this end they certainly would 
have attained had not the Jehu in charge been over- 
zealous in the use of his whip. In whirling round a 
corner near the church at too great a speed he over- 
turned the vehicle, rolling both deputation and "kist o' 
whistles" into the middle of the street. 

The "kist" was in a sadly demoralized condition, 
and its appearance now strangely suggestive of its 
Scotch name. The outcome of the disaster was that 



Of His Own Life 25 

Mr. Moody had to conduct the second meeting alone, 
as I had led the first one. 

These occurrences evidently greatly pleased some 
of the Scotch folks, as they were heard to say : "It had 
a fine tendency to break up any scheme the evangelists 
might have had in their working together." 

The third meeting was held in the same church, 
and great interest was manifested by the citizens. The 
question of the solo singing, as to its propriety and 
usefulness, was not as yet fully understood or admit- 
ted ; hence it was with much fear and trepidation that 
we thus really entered, this third night, upon our three 
months' campaign. 

As I took my seat at the instrument on that, to 
me, most memorable evening, I discovered, to my 
great surprise, that Dr. Horatius Bonar was seated 
close by my organ, right in front of the pulpit. The 
first Gospel-song music I had ever composed, written 
since coming to Edinburgh, was set to words which 
he wrote — "Yet there is room." 

Of all men in Scotland he was the one man con- 
cerning whose decision I was most solicitous. He 
was, indeed, my ideal hymn-writer, the prince among 
hymnists of his day and generation. And yet he would 
not sing one of his own beautiful hymns in his own con- 
gregation, such as " I heard the voice of Jesus say," 
or " I was a wandering sheep," because he ministered 
to a church that believed in the use of the Psalms only. 

With fear and trembling I announced as a solo the 
song "Free from the Law, oh, happy condition." 

No prayer having been offered for this part of the 
service, and feeling that the singing might prove only 



26 Sankeys Story 

an entertainment, and not a spiritual blessing, I re- 
quested the whole congregation to join me in a word 
of prayer, asking God to bless the truth about to be 
sung. 

In the prayer my anxiety was relieved. Believing 
and rejoicing in the glorious truth contained in the 
song, I sang it through to the end. 

At the close of Mr. Moody's address, Dr. Bonar 
turned toward me with a smile on his venerable face, 
and reaching out his hand he said : " Well, Mr. San- 
key, you sang the Gospel to-night." 

And thus the way was opened for my mission of 
sacred song in Scotland. 

On another occasion, as we were holding meetings 
in the Free Assembly Hall, while I was singing a solo 
a woman's shrill voice was heard in the gallery, as 
she made her way toward the door, crying : " Let me 
oot ! Let me oot ! What would John Knox think 
of the like of yon ? " At the conclusion of the solo I 
went across the street to sing at an overflow meeting 
in the famous Tolbooth Church. I had just begun to 
sing, when the same voice was again heard, " Let me 
oot ! Let me oot ! What would John Knox think of 
the like of yon ? " 

In London, a little later, Gladstone, accompanied 
by Lord Kinnaird, visited one of the meetings we were 
holding at Agricultural Hall. At the conclusion of 
the address Mr. Moody was introduced to the Grand 
Old Man of England by Lord Kinnaird. "You have 
a fine body for your profession," remarked Mr. Glad- 
stone. " Yes, if I only had your head on it," Mr. 
Moody replied, and then hurried away to an inquiry- 



Of His Own Life 2 7 

meeting. Queen Victoria, the Princess of Wales, and 
other members of the royal family, attended a number 
of our meetings at Her Majesty's Theater, occupying 
their private box. I was told by the Duchess of Suth- 
erland that the Princess was very fond of " Sacred 
Songs and Solos," a copy of which I had the pleasure 
of presenting to her. When the weather was not pro- 
pitious and she remained at home from her church 
service, she would gather her children around the 
piano and sing by the hour. 

We remained in Great Britain this time for two 
years, holding meetings in many of the leading cities 
of England, Scotland and Ireland. Some of the come- 
dians at the theaters tried to make hits by changing 
our hymns and using our names on the stage. This 
was always resented by the audiences. 

In imitation of the popular song, " He's a Fraud," 
an actor one evening sung at the Royal Theater in 
Manchester some doggerel beginning, "We know that 
Moody and Sankey are doing some good in their way." 
It received both cheers and hisses from the audience 
at first, but on a repetition of the words the displeasure 
was so great that the comedian had to leave the stage. 
At a circus in Dublin, on one occasion, one clown said 
to another, " I am rather Moody to-night ; how do you 
feel ? " The other responded, " I feel rather Sankey- 
monious." This by-play was not only met with hisses, 
but the whole audience arose and joined with tremen- 
dous effect in singing one of our hymns, " Hold the 
fort, for I am coming." 

While holding meetings at Burdett road, London, 
in 1874, Mr. Moody and I one Saturday took a drive 



28 Sankeys Story 

out to Epping Forest. There we visited a gypsy camp. 
While stopping to speak to two brothers who had been 
converted and were doing good missionary work, a 
few young gypsy lads came up to our carriage. I put 
my hand on the head of one of them and said : " May 
the Lord make a preacher of you, my boy ! " 

Fifteen years later, when Gypsy Smith made his 
first visit to America, I had the pleasure of taking him 
for a drive in Brooklyn. While passing through Pros- 
pect Park he asked me : 

" Do you remember driving out from London one 
day to a gypsy camp at Epping Forest ? " I replied 
that I did. " Do you remember a little gypsy boy 
standing by your carriage," he asked again, " and 
you put your hand on his head, saying that you hoped 
he would be a preacher?" "Yes, I remember it 
well." " I am that boy," said Gypsy Smith. My sur- 
prise can better be imagined than described. Little had 
I thought that the successful evangelist and fine gospel 
singer of whom I had heard so much, and whom I had 
so much admired, was the little boy I had met in the 
gypsy camp. Truly God has granted my wish of fif- 
teen years before, and had made a mighty preacher 
of the gypsy boy. 

During our meetings in Her Majesty's Theater at 
Pall Mall a Mr. Studd, who had a great many fast 
horses and fox-hounds, gave them all up and became 
a follower of Christ. Mr. Studd's son was attending 
Eton College, at Windsor, near the Queen's castle. 
He and Mr. Graham, of Glasgow, a member of Par- 
liament, invited us to go to Windsor and hold meetings 
for the young Lords in the college. When it was ru- 



Of His Own Life 29 

mored that we would accept the invitation, the subject 
was taken up and discussed in Parliament. 

Although we were accustomed to devote Saturdays 
to rest, we decided to give one Saturday to Eton Col- 
lege. When we arrived at Windsor Station we were 
met by Mr. Studd and Mr. Graham, and taken to the 
home of a merchant. As there was so much excite- 
ment in the town because of our coming, it was de- 
cided that it would be best to hold the meetings in this 
gentleman's garden. Mr. Graham gathered about 
fifty of the students under a large apple-tree in the gar- 
den. There Mr. Moody gave a short address on John 
3 : 16, and I sang a number of solos, including " Pass 
me not, O gentle Saviour." We also distributed copies 
of " Sacred Songs and Solos " among the students, 
who took an enthusiastic part in the singing. Mr. 
Studd's son, who afterward became known as one of 
the chief cricketers of England, was converted at this 
meeting. 

On one of our subsequent visits to Great Britain 
this young man got up a large petition, inviting us to 
Cambridge. The invitation to Cambridge we gladly 
accepted, and arrived there on Guy Fawkes night. 
When we entered the Corn Exchange, which was the 
largest meeting room in town, we found it filled with 
students. It was the largest religious meeting that 
had ever been held in Cambridge. On reaching the plat- 
form we found Mr. George E. Morgan, of "The Chris- 
tian," London, who was then a Cambridge student, 
conducting the singing. Mr. Moody asked one of the 
Dons to lead in prayer, after which he called upon me 
to sing " The Ninety and Nine." The students lis- 



30 Sa,7ikeys Story 

tened to the first verse in perfect silence, but at its 
conclusion they vigorously beat the floor with canes 
and umbrellas, and cried, " Hear, hear! " This demon- 
stration followed each verse to the end. Mr. Moody's 
address for half an hour held the undivided attention 
of his congregation. At the conclusion some of the 
students attempted to stampede the meeting, but a 
large majority remained and gathered around us, say- 
ing: " These men must have fair play while they are in 
Cambridge." Thus began a great revival in that town. 
Hundreds of young men dated their conversion from 
that time. 

The news of the religious work at Cambridge nat- 
urally spread to Oxford, and we were invited to hold 
meetings there. We had hoped that the success of our 
meetings at Cambridge would make the way easier at 
Oxford. But a similar process had to be gone through 
there. We stopped at the Bull's Head Hotel, and 
held meetings for two weeks in a large hall connected 
with that building, and eventually a large number of 
students took their stand on the Lord's side. 

On the 3d of August, 1875, a great farewell meet- 
ing was held for us in Liverpool. Several addresses 
were made by prominent speakers, and one of some 
length by Mr. Moody. As we took our departure on 
the " Spain " we were greeted with the most enthu- 
siastic applause and evidences of good will, the great 
crowd on the shore singing several of our hymns as the 
vessel moved out of sight. 

After our return to America, the first meeting 
held was at Northfield, on the 9th of September, 1875. 
There, among many others, Mr. Moody's mother, who 



Of His Own Life 3 1 

was a Unitarian, stood up for prayer. At this meet- 
ing I first sang " The Ninety and Nine " in this 
country. 

Brooklyn was our next place to visit. Although 
the first meeting, held in Clermont Avenue Rink, Octo- 
ber 24, was at half past eight in the morning, the hall, 
which had chairs for five thousand persons, was packed 
full, and thousands were turned away for want of 
room. I was assisted in the singing here by a choir 
of two hundred and fifty voices. My first solo was, 
" Rejoice and be glad ! the Redeemer has come ! " At 
the second meeting, in the afternoon, fifteen thousand 
persons had to be turned away for lack of accommo- 
dation. From two to three hundred requests for 
prayer would often be announced at these meetings. 

At one of them a fine-looking young man came 
into the inquiry-room along with a number of others. 
I asked him if he was willing to accept Christ as his 
only Saviour. He bowed his head in his hands as 
he sat by my side. With great earnestness, while his 
whole frame shook with deepest feeling, he replied : 

" Jesus will not accept me." 

"Why not?" 

" Because I have been an infidel for many years, 
a follower of Charles Bradlaugh, and for the last eight 
years have not ceased to speak in private and public 
against Christ. I have traveled over nearly all the 
world, and have spoken everywhere against him and 
all those who professed to be Christians ; now I fear he 
will not forgive me for what I have done." 

" Do you want him to forgive you ? " I asked. 

" Well, sir," he said, " I do not know what is the 



2)2 Sankeys Story 

matter with me or why I am here to-night. Some 
power that I do not understand has been working upon 
me for the last two days, and I am in a despondent 
state of mind." 

I lifted my heart in prayer that I might make no 
mistake in dealing with this man. I waited for a mo- 
ment, and then said, " My dear friend, what you need 
to-night is Christ ; he will dispel your gloom and 
sorrow." 

" But," he exclaimed, arousing himself from what 
seemed to be a deep reverie, " I have fought against 
him all my life, and I thought I was right, too." 

" Did you have peace in your heart when you were 
preaching against Christ?" 

He looked up at me. " No, I was a coward," he 
confessed. " I remember, while coming home from a 
long journey on the sea, we were one night driven by 
the storm near the rocks off a certain cape, and when 
I thought we were sure to go to the bottom of the sea, 
I got down on my knees and prayed to God to save 
us. The storm died, and with it went my prayers. 
For as soon as I thought we were safe, like a coward 
I went back to my old ways, and denied that there 
was a God." 

" Well," I said, " let that go. What brought you 
here to-night? " 

" I don't know," he replied. " I have not been 
in church for eight years ; I have not spoken to a 
Christian in that time, as I have lived entirely among 
infidels and skeptics. But about a year ago I received 
a letter from my poor old mother, away over in Dun- 
dee, Scotland. She asked me to make her one promise, 



Of His Own Life 3 3 

that when Mr. Moody and Mr. Sankey came back to 
America I would go to hear them, if they came to 
the place where I was. I answered her that I would. 
When you came here I thought I would have to keep 
my word to my mother, so I went to the Rink two 
nights in succession. Since that time I have had no 
rest. Yesterday and to-day I have had to close up 
my office. I am a civil engineer. I have been walk- 
ing the streets all day, thinking, thinking. Not being 
acquainted with any Christians to whom I could speak, 
I thought I would go once more to the Rink. And 
now here I am, talking to you." 

" My dear friend," I said, " it is an answer to your 
mother's prayer. She may be praying for her wan- 
dering boy this very night. Now, do not delay any 
longer. Yield to Christ and he will receive you." 

He bowed his head, while his trembling form told 
how deeply his heart was moved. After a hard strug- 
gle he took my hand and said : " By the grace of God 
I take Jesus Christ as my Saviour now ! " 

After a word of prayer I asked him if he would 
not write to Scotland at once and tell his mother all 
about it, and he promised that he would. A few even- 
ings later I met him at the door of the Rink. As he 
came up to shake hands and bid me good-bye, I asked 
him if he had written to his mother. 

" Oh, yes," said he, " but not until I had sent her 
a cable dispatch first." 

" What did you say in the dispatch ? " I asked. 

" Well, I just said, ' I've found Jesus,' and signed 
my name to it." 

" Thank the Lord," said I. 



34 Sankeys Story 

" Yes," he exclaimed, " that is just what my dear 
old mother cabled back to me, ' Thank the Lord, O 
my soul.' " 

Our first meeting in Philadelphia was held on 
November 24, in the old Pennsylvania Railroad Depot, 
which John Wanamaker fitted up for our use. It had 
a seating capacity of more than ten thousand persons. 
Here, as in Brooklyn, the leading ministers gave their 
hearty support to the work and in every way expressed 
their approval of the effort. On one occasion the 
meetings were attended by President U. S. Grant, sev- 
eral Senators, and members of the Supreme Court. 
During my stay in Philadelphia I often visited the 
home of Henry Clay Trumbull, then the editor of " The 
Sunday School Times," who gave us his heartiest sup- 
port in every way. Among the laymen who were 
very efficient helpers at our meetings were John Wana- 
maker and George H. Stuart. Air. Wanamaker's 
special meetings for young men were largely attended. 
Under Moody's powerful preaching many conversions 
took place in Philadelphia. 

A number of Princeton students attended the 
meetings, and an invitation was extended to us to go 
to Princeton to hold meetings there for the college 
men, which we were glad to accept. In the Princeton 
meetings we had the warm sympathy and co-operation 
of President McCosh. Among the converts at Prince- 
ton was Wilton Merle Smith, now one of the leading 
ministers of New York City. 

The old Hippodrome in New York, located where 
Madison Square Garden is now, was the scene of our 
next meetings, in February, March and April of 1876. 



Of His Own Life 35 

It was the largest place of assembly in the city, though 
a very unattractive structure. The building had never 
been used for religious meetings before, but was a 
place for sport and gaiety. The hall which we used, 
the largest in the building, seated eight thousand. A 
monster stage was built, large enough to hold the 
choir of six hundred voices, and still to leave room 
for at least four hundred visiting clergymen and guests. 
Here for the first time I sang " Waiting and Watch- 
ing," which afterward became a great favorite. Thur- 
low Weed, who frequently attended the meetings and 
occupied a seat at the reporters' desk, would often 
have written requests laid on my organ asking me to 
sing this hymn. The New York meetings were very 
successful. One day, near the close of the ten weeks' 
campaign, an audience assembled which numbered 
more than four thousand persons, all of whom con- 
fessed that they had been converted at these meetings. 
Our next large meetings were held in Chicago 
during the fall of 1876, in a large Tabernacle erected 
for the occasion by John V. Farwell. It was capable 
of seating more than eight thousand. At one of these 
meetings Mr. Moody's attention was attracted by an 
usher with a wand in his hand, seating the people as 
they came in. Mr. Moody did not like the man's ap- 
pearance. He asked the chairman of the committee, 
Mr. Harvey, who the usher was. Mr. Harvey replied 
that he did not know, but would go and see. Taking 
the man out into the inquiry-room, Mr. Harvey learned 
that his name was Guiteau — the man who afterward 
shot President Garfield. So great was Mr. Moody's 
power in reading character ! 



36 Sankey's Story 

At the close of the three months' mission in Chi- 
cago a farewell service was held for those alone who 
professed to have been brought to Christ during the 
meetings, and it was attended by six thousand persons. 

Then, for six months, we conducted meetings in 
Boston. On an average, three meetings a day were 
held, in a large temporary building erected for the 
occasion by a committee of wealthy gentlemen. Here 
also we had the hearty co-operation of many promi- 
nent ministers and laymen, among whom Dr. A. J. 
Gordon, Dr. Joseph Cook, Phillips Brooks and Henry 
M. Moore may be mentioned. Among those who 
professed conversion at these meetings was H. M. F. 
Marshall, who afterward removed to Northfield, and 
there, under Mr. Moody's direction, erected a number 
of the school buildings. 

New Haven was our next field of labor. Many 
of the Yale University students were here converted, 
and afterward became useful ministers of the Gospel 
throughout the country. 

At Hartford, which we next visited, Mark Twain 
attended several of our meetings. On one occasion 
P. T. Barnum, the famous showman, attended and re- 
mained for an inquiry-meeting, where it was my priv- 
ilege to speak to him in regard to his spiritual condi- 
tion. In our conversation he said : " Mr. Sankey, you 
go on singing ' The Ninety and Nine,' and when you 
get that lost sheep in the fold we will all be saved." 
I afterward learned that he was a Universalist. 

For the next six months we conducted meetings 
in the churches of St. Louis. Able assistance was ren- 
dered by the Rev. J. H. Brookes and other eminent 



Of His Own Life 37 

ministers. The usual good results attended our efforts. 
At one of the inquiry-meetings I asked a fine-looking 
man as he was leaving the meeting, if he was a Chris- 
tian. " No," he replied, " I am a Missourian." 

Our work spread out in all directions, and hun- 
dreds of cities were visited, not only throughout the 
United States, but in Canada, and even in Mexico, 
much blessing attending all the services wherever we 
went. 

On one occasion, when I was leaving Chicago for 
New York on an evening train, a gentleman took his 
seat beside me. For some time nothing was said, but 
after a while we got into a general conversation. After 
discussing the weather and politics, we entered upon 
the subject of religion. This finally led to the discus- 
sion of Moody and Sankey. The stranger said that he 
had never had the pleasure of hearing either of them. 
When I told him that I had often heard Moody preach 
and Sankey sing, he seemed much interested and 
asked : 

" What kind of folks are they ? " 

" Oh, they are just common folks like you and 
me," I replied. 

His daughter, he said, had a cabinet organ and 
they were all very fond of the " Gospel Hymns," and 
he was sorry that he had not had the opportunity to 
hear Sankey sing ' The Ninety and Nine ' before he 
died. I told him I was much surprised, and asked 
him what proof he had of Sankey's death. He replied 
that he had seen it in the papers. 

" It must be true if you have seen it in the papers," 
I said. 



38 Sankey' s Story 

By this time we were nearing the station where 
my friend was to get out. Hearing the whistle blow, 
he looked out of the window and remarked : " I have 
enjoyed your company very much, but will soon have 
to leave you now." 

" I hardly think it is fair that we should part with- 
out telling you that I am one of the men we have been 
talking about," I said. 

" Why, who are you? " he asked. 

" I am what is left of Sankey." 

At this he reached for his gripsack, and giving me 
a quizzical look he said : " You can't play that on me, 
old fellow ; Sankey is dead." Then he rushed for the 
door, leaving me to continue my journey alone. 

During the years which followed we made several 
trips to Great Britain and held meetings in hundreds 
of places, large and small. In the campaign of i88i-'84 
we held meetings in ninety-nine different places in 
Scotland alone. Mr. Moody was once asked if he had 
kept any record of the number of converts at his meet- 
ings. 

" Records ! " he exclaimed, "why, they are only 
kept in heaven." 

In one of the recent revival meetings at Sheffield, 
conducted by Torrey and Alexander, a man gave the 
following testimony : " I found Christ in this hall in 
1882, when Moody and Sankey were preaching the 
Gospel ; I was brought face to face with God, and in the 
after-meeting Mr. Sankey led me to Christ, and I am 
happy in him to-day." 

" Well, now, that is refreshing," commented Mr. 
Alexander. " When anybody asks you if revival con- 



Of His Own Life 39 

verts stand, you can speak of that one ; he looks as if 
he is going to stay, too. As we have gone around the 
world we have found that the best workers, as a gen- 
eral rule, are either workers or converts of the Moody 
and Sankey meetings. We have found them in India, 
in Tasmania, and everywhere we have gone." 

Lord Shaftesbury, speaking at a meeting in Exe- 
ter Hall, London, in the interest of evangelical work in 
Ireland, said : " Therefore go on circulating the Scrip- 
tures. I should have been glad to have had also the 
circulation of some well-known hymns, because I have 
seen the effect produced by those of Moody and San- 
key. If they would only return to this country they 
would be astonished at seeing the influence exerted 
by those hymns which they sung. A week ago, when 
in Paris, I went to Belleville, the very nest of the com- 
munists, and even in this quarter I heard their hymns 
being sung. If we could get something like that in 
Ireland a mighty influence would be exerted." 

" These American laymen," said another promi- 
nent man, " have wrought a work in Great Britain 
which the Church of England itself feels in its inmost 
heart. They are not, it is true, graduates of any uni- 
versity ; they are men of the people, speaking the lan- 
guage and using the methods not of the refined, but of 
the generality. Yet they have probably left a deeper 
impress of their individuality upon the men and women 
of Great Britain than any other persons that could be 
named." 

One of the most delightful experiences of my life 
was a trip to the Holy Land in 1898. I was accom- 
panied by my wife, one of my sons, my brother, and 



40 Sankey's Story 

a few friends. One of the most genial members of the 
company was the late Roswell P. Flower, with whom 
we had the pleasure of traveling for more than three 
months. We sailed from New York in January, made 
a short stop at Gibraltar, and dropped anchor at Alex- 
andria. Cairo we reached by rail. We saw the pyra- 
mids, the Gizeh Museum, and the Howling Dervishes ; 
made an excursion to Heliopolis, and took the trip up 
the Nile to the First Cataract, visiting the usual places, 
such as Luxor and Karnak. At the latter place we 
met the old Arab who discovered the mummy of Rame- 
ses II. We asked him if he would allow us to take a 
snapshot of him. This he at first refused, but the glint 
of the bright Egyptian sun on the proffered piece of 
silver at once secured his consent. 

After spending about forty days in Egypt we 
started for Palestine in March — by a provokingly slow 
train from Cairo to Port Said, and thence by one of 
the regular mail steamers to Jaffa. In the Holy Land 
we followed much the usual round — exploring Jerusa- 
lem, Bethlehem, Jericho, Bethany and other historic 
spots, and sharing the profound emotions that forever 
stir the hearts of Christian tourists in Palestine. On 
our way home we visited Constantinople, returning via 
Athens, Naples and Rome — and, of course, taking in 
Mt. Vesuvius. 

All through this trip — here so briefly outlined — I 
had occasion to sing the "Gospel Hymns" many times. 
The first evening in Cairo I visited the American Mis- 
sion. I found the building well filled with Americans, 
Egyptians and English. A man on the platform was 
giving an address on temperance. The room was di- 



Of His Own Life 41 

vided by a partition about two feet high, separating 
the natives from the foreigners. I made my way to a 
seat among the Americans, and had not been there 
long when a missionary beside me leaned over and 
said : " Are you not Mr. Sankey ? " When I replied 
that I was he said he hoped that I would sing for them. 
I told him that, although I had come for rest, I would 
gladly sing if they had a small organ or piano on which 
I might accompany myself. There being no instru- 
ment in the church, the matter was dropped. A few 
minutes later a lady pressed her way into the pew 
behind me and, leaning over toward me, said : " I am 
delighted to see you here to-night, and I hope you will 
sing for us." 

She proved to be a woman from my own county 
in Pennsylvania. Being told that there was no instru- 
ment in the church, she declared that she would soon 
get one. She beckoned to four Egyptian soldiers to 
follow her. In a few minutes they returned with a 
small cabinet organ, which they placed on the plat- 
form. At the conclusion of the address I gave a serv- 
ice of song, lasting for a half-hour, after which I said 
good-night. But they refused to be satisfied, and 
demanded more songs. Again a number of pieces 
were rendered, and the service was finally closed. 

While returning down the Nile I was often pre- 
vailed upon by missionaries along the way where the 
steamer stopped to give services of song. At several 
of these services I found that the natives already knew 
a number of our hymns. 

In Jerusalem I started early one morning to visit 
the Tower of David, which was located only a few 



42 Sankey's Story 

rods from the hotel. I was stopped by one of the Sul- 
tan's soldiers, who informed me by signs and gesticu- 
lations that I could not ascend the tower without a 
permit from the captain of the guard. I secured the 
desired permit by the use of a little bakhsheesh, and 
was escorted up the winding stairway by a savage- 
looking soldier carrying a gun. From the top of the 
tower may be seen one of the grandest and most inter- 
esting scenes in the world. I determined to have at 
least one song in honor of King David before descend- 
ing. Selecting one of the most beautiful psalms, the 
121st, "I to the hills will lift mine eyes," I began to 
sing at the top of my voice, using the grand old tune, 
" Belmont." The soldier, not acquainted with that 
kind of performance, and perhaps never having heard 
a sacred song in his life, rushed up to where I stood, 
looking quite alarmed. I knew that he could not un- 
derstand a word of what I was singing, so I kept right 
on to the end of the psalm. Coming to the conclusion 
by this time that I was not likely to do any special dam- 
age either to him or to myself, the guard smiled and 
tipped his cap as I finished. By tipping him I returned 
the salutation, and then we passed down into the Street 
of David. 

A few hours later our party visited that portion 
of the city called Mount Zion, where we entered the 
fine school erected by an English bishop for the chil- 
dren of Jerusalem. We were greeted by the principal, 
who proved to have been a member of my choir at the 
meetings in London. I was invited to sing for the 
children, and consented to do so if they would sing 
for us first. I was much surprised to hear them sing 



Of His Own Life 43 

some of my own songs, as well as their native songs 
in Arabic. I sang " The Ninety and Nine" and other 
songs, much to the delight of the children. 

Standing on the summit of the green hill far away, 
outside the city wall, I sang the fine old Gospel hymn : 
" On Calvary's brow my Saviour died." While at 
Constantinople I visited Robert College, where I sang 
several hymns and gave an address to the Turkish stu- 
dents ; and also at the American and English missions 
in that city I rendered my service of song. In Rome 
I had the same pleasant experience, where I held a 
number of services, both speaking and singing in the 
English, American and Scotch churches. 

On returning to America I visited the soldiers in 
camp at Tampa, Florida, where I held several services. 
I was here invited by Theodore Roosevelt, then Colonel 
of the Rough Riders, to conduct services at his camp, 
but a previous engagement prevented my accepting. 

The following year I again visited Great Britain, 
where I held services of " Sacred Song and Story " in 
thirty cities and towns. The result was that my health 
broke down. Later I lost my eyesight. 

My friend, Dwight Lyman Moody, was born Feb- 
ruary 5, 1837, at Northfield, Massachusetts. His 
father, who was a stone-mason, died when the lad was 
about four years old. Many years later Mr. Moody 
was laying the corner-stone of the first building at 
Northfield. His friends had secured a silver trowel 
for him, but he refused to use it. He had been at 
his mother's home, and in the garret he had found" 
one of his father's old trowels with which he had 
earned bread for the family. 



44 Sankey's Story 

" You may keep the silver trowel," Mr. Moody 
said ; " this one is good enough for me." 

Mr. Moody used to tell of how he earned his first 
money by driving the neighbors' cows to and from 
pasture at two cents a day. When he was eight years 
old a man who owned a mortgage on his mother's little 
farm came to the house one day and told the widow 
that she must pay the mortgage or get out of the 
house. The poor woman was sick at the time. She 
turned over in the bed and prayed that God would 
help her. Then she wrote to her brother, and he 
helped her by paying the interest on the mortgage for 
several years. At last, by economy and industry, the 
family was able to clear off the mortgage and retain 
the home. Many years afterward, by God's blessing, 
young Dwight was able to secure the farm belonging 
to the man who had once held the mortgage, and on 
that farm is now located the school of Mount Hermon, 
established for the education of young men. 

At the age of nineteen young Moody left the farm 
and went to Boston, where he entered a shoe store 
owned by his uncle. In Boston he was converted 
through the preaching of Dr. Kirk, at the Mount Ver- 
non Church. After remaining in Boston for some 
time, Moody went to Chicago, where he found employ- 
ment in a shoe store owned by a Mr. Henderson. He 
made a good record in business, and sold more shoes 
than any other clerk in the establishment. And when- 
ever Mr. Henderson heard of the failure of any of his 
customers in the towns about Chicago, he would 
always send Moody to collect the debts, as he invar- 
iably arrived there ahead of all other creditors. 



Of His Own Life 45 

While he was thus engaged Mr. Moody did not 
lose zeal in religious matters. He was very active in 
the work of the Young Men's Christian Association, 
and was soon elected president of the branch located at 
Farwell Hall. He also became much interested in 
Sunday-school work, hiring a saloon for use on Sun- 
days. 

In his Sunday-school was a wicked and unruly 
young man, who constantly disturbed the exercises. 
Mr. Moody remonstrated with him a number of times, 
but to no avail. Finally, taking the young man into 
an adjoining room, he gave him a severe chastising. 
When Moody returned, flushed with excitement, he 
said to his assistant superintendent : " I think I have 
saved that young man." And truly he had, for from 
that time the young disturber became an earnest Chris- 
tian, and was one of Moody's warmest and best sup- 
porters for many years. Mr. Moody's Sunday-school 
work grew until he had one of the largest schools in 
Chicago, in what was known as the Illinois Street 
Church. There I joined him in 1871, acting as his 
chorister until we went to England in 1873. after which 
we continued to work together for about a quarter of 
a century. Mr. Moody was not a singer, and could 
not have raised a tune had his life depended upon it, 
although he was very fond of singing and used the 
service of praise more extensively and successfully 
than any other man in the nineteenth century. 

Dwight L. Moody was the greatest and noblest 
man I have ever known. His strongest characteristic 
was common sense. The poor heard him gladly, as 
they did his Master of old ; the rich and learned were 



46 Sankeys Story 

charmed by his simple, earnest words. He will not 
only be remembered for his extended evangelistic 
work, but also for the two noble schools which he 
founded. 

Those schools at Xorthfield and Mount Hermon, 
Massachusetts, originated in this way : One day, about 
the year 1880, Mr. Moody drove up into the mountains 
near his mother's home. Stopping at a much dilapi- 
dated farmhouse, he hitched his horse to the fence 
and went in. The man of the family was sick in bed ; 
the mother and two daughters were making straw hats, 
by which to support the family. Moody said to them : 

" What are you going to do ? This old farm is 
worn out and unable to maintain your family." 

The girls answered that if they could obtain an 
education in some way they might be able to earn 
money for the support of their parents. 

" Well, let us pray about it," said Moody. After 
the prayer he gave them a little money, got into his 
carriage, and started back down the mountain to the 
village. I met him on his return, and he said to me: 
" I have made up my mind to start a school for poor 
girls in New England. If you are willing, we will ask 
the committee which has charge of the royalty received 
on our hymn-books to devote the income from that 
source to start the erection of buildings." 

To this I heartily agreed, and this was the begin- 
ning of the now famous Xorthfield schools. The first 
students in the school were the poor girls who were 
making the straw hats. The story of these two 
girls, and of Mr. Moody's visit to them, I told some 
years afterward to a number of summer guests at Lake 



Of His Own Life 47 

Mohonk. The proprietor of the hotel, Mr. Smiley, 
being much impressed, took his hat and collected 
among the guests $1,500 for the school. On receiv- 
ing the offering next day, Moody said to me that it was 
the most providential thing, as they were just that 
amount short in making up the annual accounts of the 
school. 

Some time after the establishment of the girls' 
school a wealthy gentleman from New Haven was 
visiting Northfield. Seeing the good work done there 
for the girls, he asked Mr. Moody why he did not do 
the same thing for the boys of New England. Mr. 
Moody replied that he would be very glad to do so if 
he had the money. 

" I will give $25,000 to commence with," said the 
old, white-haired man. 

The offer was gladly accepted. It was this money 
which Mr. Moody used for buying the farm of the man 
who had ordered his widowed mother from her home. 
On this farm, situated two miles from the girls' school, 
across the Connecticut River, are now located five or 
six large buildings, in which young men from all over 
the world are educated. About a thousand students 
attend the schools every year. One hundred dollars a 
year is charged for each student, but pupils are ex- 
pected to do whatever work they can to help along. 

After forty-four years of faithful and consecrated 
labor for his Master, Mr. Moody passed on to his re- 
ward December 22, 1899. 

I. D. S. 



+ff* EFORE sending: forth this book on its 
r^ mission I wish to express my thank- 
fulness to Almighty God for having 
permitted me to live, move and have my 
being-; for the promise which he hath given 
of eternal life through his name ; and for the 
confidence that I shall be with him by and by 
in the land where there is no more pain, 
sorrow or death, and where he shall wipe all 
tears from our eyes. 

My three latest favorite songs, u Hiding 
in Thee," "There'll be no Dark Valley," 
and u Saved by Grace," besides the old famil- 
iar "Ninety and Nine," are herewith re- 
produced, as an appropriate closing for this 
autobiographical sketch* 



c 



Hiding in Thee. 



Rev. William O. Cushing. 

Copyright, 1877, by Biglow & Main. 



Ira D. Sanket. 

Used by permission 



1. O safe to 

2. In the calm of 
How oft in 



the Rock that is high - er than I, 

the noon - tide, in sor - row's lone hour, 

the con - flict, when press'd by the foe, 




>—> 




My soul 


in its con 


In times 


when temp - ta 


I have fled 


to my Kef 



flicts and sor - rows would fly; 
tion casts o'er me its power; 
uge and breath 'd out my woe; 




So sin - ful, so wei 

In the tern - pests of life. 
How oft - en, when tri 



ry, Thine, Thine would I be; 
>n its wide, heav - ing sea; 
like yea - bil - lows roll. 




Thou blest "Rock of A - ges," I'm hid - ing in Thee. 
Thou blest "Rock of A -ges," I'm hid - ing in Thee. 
Havel hid- den in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul. 



ing in Thee, 




Hid - ing in Thee, Thou blest "Rock of A - ges," I'm hid - ing in Thee. 
f s> - f'J.a -mZm ,r» f- • * 



There'll Be No Dark Valley. 



Eev. William O. Cushing. 

Copyright. 1896, by The Biglow & Main Co. 



Ira D. Sanket. 

Used by permission 



1. There'll be no dark val - ley when Je - sus comes, There'll be no dark 

2. There'll be no more sor - row when Je - sue comes, There'll be no more 

3. There'll be no more weep-ing when Je - sus comes, There'll be no more 

4. There'll be songs of greet -ing when Je - sus comes, There'll be songs of 







val - ley when Je - sns comes; There'll be no dark val - ley when Je - bus comes 
sor - row when Je - sus comes; But a glorious mor - row when Je - sus comes 
weep-ing when Je - bus comes; But a bless-cd reap ing when Je - sus comes 
greet-ing when Je - bus comes; And a joy - ful meeting when Je bus comes 




• home, To gath • er Hi9 loved ones home; There'll be 

safe home, safe home; 

,^. m g- -g- JT5 |g g ~ -^Z **=F ^' fa ' 



+ 4 * 

no dark val • ley when Je - bus comes To gath-er His loved ones home. 



Copyright, 1905, by Ira D Sankey. 



Saved by Grace. 



Fanny J. Crosby. 



Geo. C. Stebbins. 

Copyright, 1894, by The Biglow & Main Co. Used by permission 



1. Some day the sil - ver cord will break, And I no more as now shall sing; 

2. Some day my earth -ly house will fall, I can - not tell how soon 'twill be, 

3. Some day, when fades the gold-en sun Be-neath the ro' - sy-tint-ed west, 

4. Some day; till then I'll watch and wait, My lamp all trimm'd and burning bright, 




But, O, the joy when I shall wake With -in the pal - ace of the King! 
But this I know— my All in All Has now a place in heav'n for me. 
My bless -ed Lord shall say, "Well done!" And I shall en - ter in - to rest. 
That when my Sav - iour ope's the gate, My soul to Him may take its flight. 




And I shall see Him face to face, And tell the 

J shall see _ i to face, 




Bto - ry— Saved by grace; And I shall see 

.— . A . J*. -W- . 

■m- -m- ■*-• -m- -0- 



Him face to 



P£ 1 h fc j- K- 


rit 


face, And tell the sto - ry— 
l to face, 


■rjj - -• 

Saved by grace. 

S&r\r z II 


p:£=£=»=& |g £=^~;p=S= 


-F- — t. ' ' 



The Ninety and Nine* 



E. C. Clefhani 



Copyright 1894, by The Biglow & Main Co. 



Ira D. Sankkt. 

-A- 



m^^m 



1. There were nine-ty and nine that safe 

2. "Lord, Thou bast nere Thy nine - ty 

3. But none of the ran-soined ev 



ly lay 
and nine 
er Knew How deep were the wa- ters 



In the shel • ter of the 
Are they not e - nough for 




fold, But one was out on the hills a - way. Far off from the 

Thee?" But the Shep-herd made an • swer: " This of mine Has wan - dered 
cross'd ; Nor how dark wa* the night that the Lord pass'd thro' Ere He found His 




gates of gold- 

a way from me, 

sheep that was lost. 



A 
And, 



way on the moun tains wild and bare, A 
al though the road be rough and steep, L 
Out in the des ■ ert He heard its cry— 




way from the tender Shepherd's care, A-way from the ten-der Shep-herd's 
go to the desert to find my sheep, I go to the desert to find my i 
Sick and helpless, and ready to die, Sick and helpless, and ready to 



care, 
heep. 
die. 



L'sed by p,_i 



4 "Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way 

That mark out the mountain's track?" 
"They were shed for one who had gone astray 

Ere the Shepherd could bring him back. " 
"Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?" 
"They are pierced to-night by many a thorn." 

5 But all thro 1 the mountains, thunder-riven, 

And up from the rocky steep. 
There arose a glad cry to the gate of heaven, 

"Rejoice! I have found my sheep!" 
And tbe Angels echoed around the throne, 
".Rejoice! for the Lord brings back His own! " 



SANKEY'S STORY OF 
THE GOSPEL HYMNS 



SANKEY'S STORY OF THE 
GOSPEL HYMNS 

A Mighty Fortress 

Words by Martin Luther Music by Martin Luther 

" A mighty fortress is our God, 
A bulwark never failing." 

Martin Luther, the great leader of the Reforma- 
tion, is the author of both the words and music of this 
famous hymn, probably written in 1521. The English 
version is a translation by the Rev. Dr. F. H. Hedge. 

While Luther was still living his enemies in the 
Roman Catholic Church declared that the whole Ger- 
man people were singing themselves into Luther's 
doctrines, and that his hymns " destroyed more souls 
than all his writings and sermons." 

During the prolonged contest of the Reformation 
period "A Mighty Fortress" was of incalculable benefit 
and comfort to the Protestant people, and it became the 
national hymn of Germany. Gustavus Adolphus, the 
hero of the Thirty Years' War, adopted it as his 
battle-hymn, when he was leading his troops to meet 
Wallenstein. 

The first line of this hymn is inscribed on Luther's 
monument in Wittenburg. Luther himself found great 
comfort in his hymn. When dangers thickened around 

55 



56 Sankeys Story 

him he would turn to his companion, Melanchthon, 
and say : "Come, Philip, let us sing the 46th Psalm" — 
and they would sing it in this characteristic version. 

In 1720 a remarkable revival began in a town in 
Moravia. Jesuits opposed it, and the meetings were 
prohibited. Those who still assembled were seized and 
imprisoned in stables and cellars. At David Nitsch- 
mann's house, where a hundred and fifty persons gath- 
ered, the police broke in and seized the books. Not 
dismayed, the congregation struck up the stanza of 
Luther's hymn, 

"And though this world, with devils filled, 

Should threaten to undo us; 
We will not fear, for God hath willed 
His truth to triumph through us." 

Twenty heads of families were for this sent to jail, in- 
cluding Nitschmann, who was treated with special 
severity. He finally escaped, fled to the Moravians at 
Herrnhut, became a bishop, and afterwards joined the 
Wesleys in 1735 in their expedition to Savannah, 
Georgia. 

A Shelter in the Time of Storm 

Words by V. J. Charlesworth Music by Ira D. Sankey 

"The Lord's our Rock, in Him we hide, 
A shelter in the time of storm." 

I found this hymn in a small paper published in 
London, called " The Postman." It was said to be a 
favorite song of the fishermen on the north coast of 
England, and they were often heard singing it as they 



Of the Gospel Hymns 5 7 

approached their harbors in the time of storm. As 
the hymn was set to a weird minor tune, I decided to 
compose one that would be more practical, one that 
could be more easily sung by the people. 



A Sinner Forgiven 

Words by Jeremiah J. Callahan Music by I. B. Woodbury 

" To the hall of the feast came the sinful and fair; 
She heard in the city that Jesus was there. 

"Mr. F. Markham, connected with a large and 
well-known piano factory, was leading an ungodly 
and heedless life," says a London periodical. " One 
day he saw an announcement that Moody and Sankey 
were to open a mission at St. Pancras that evening. 
Instantly he resolved to go and hear the singing. He 
and a companion reached the hall in good time, as 
they thought, only to find it crowded to the doors. An 
overflow meeting was announced at a neighboring 
church, and thither they went. By-and-by Mr. Sankey 
sang 'To the hall of the feast came the sinful and fair.' 
As Markham listened, his past life seemed to rise be- 
fore him ; the tears rushed into his eyes ; his heart 
seemed broken. Coming out, he asked his companion 
what he thought of it. ' Oh,' was the careless reply, 
' he is a nice singer.' ' Is that all ? It has broken my 
heart.' Ere long he could say, in the words of the 
song, 'He looked on his lost one ; my sins are for- 
given.' When he got home his wife was amazed at 
what had come over him, and could not make out 
where he had been. She had been converted years 



58 Sankey s Story 

before, but had backslidden. She accompanied him to 
the mission on the following evening, and was happily 
received. The man became a Christian worker, and is 
the founder and superintendent of the Tahhall Road 
Factory Lads' Home and Institution. 

Abide With Me 

Words by H. F. Lyte Music by William H. Monk 

"Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide, 
The darkness deepens — Lord, with me abide." 

One of the many instances of the power of this hymn 
has been recorded by Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler : " Dur- 
ing my active pastorate I often got better sermons from 
my people than I ever gave them. I recall now a most 
touching and sublime scene that I once witnessed in 
the death-chamber of a noble woman who had suffered 
for many months from an excruciating malady. The 
end was drawing near. She seemed to be catching a 
foregleam of the glory that awaited her. With trem- 
ulous tones she began to recite Henry Lyte's matchless 
hymn, ' Abide with me ! Fast falls the eventide.' One 
line after another was feebly repeated, until, with a 
rapturous sweetness, she exclaimed : 

'Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes, 
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies; 
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee! 
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.' 

" As I came away from that room, which had been 
as the vestibule of heaven, I understood how the ' light 
of eventide ' could be only a flashing forth of the over- 



Of the Gospel Hymns 59 

whelming glory that plays forever around the throne 
of God." 



Henry Francis Lyte wrote this hymn in 1847, m 
his fifty-fourth year, when he felt the eventide of life 
approaching. For twenty years he had ministered to 
a lowly congregation in Devonshire. He decided to 
spend the next winter in Italy, on account of rapidly 
declining health. On a Sunday in September — in 
weakness, and against the advice of his friends — he 
preached a farewell sermon to his much-loved people, 
and in the evening of the same day he wrote this im- 
mortal hymn. He died a few weeks later, his last 
words being "Peace, joy!" 

All to Christ I Owe 

Words by Mrs. Elvina M. Hall Music by John T. Grape 

" I hear the Saviour say, 
Thy strength indeed is small." 

" Our church was undergoing some alterations," 
writes Mr. Grape, " and the cabinet organ was placed 
in my care. Thus afforded a pleasure not before en- 
joyed, I delighted myself in playing over our Sunday- 
school hymns. I determined to give tangible shape to 
a theme that had been running in my mind for some 
time — to write, if possible, an answer to Mr. Brad- 
bury's beautiful piece, 'Jesus paid it all.' I made it a 
matter of prayer and study, and gave to the public the 
music, now known as the tune to 'All to Christ I owe.' 
It was pronounced very poor by my choir and my 
friends, but my dear wife persistently declared that it 



60 Sankey 's Story 

was a good piece of music and would live. Time has 
proved the correctness of her judgment. Soon after 
the Rev. Mr. Schrick called on me to select anything 
new in music that I had to offer. On hearing this 
piece he expressed his pleasure with it, and stated 
that Mrs. Elvina M. Hall had written some words 
which he thought would just suit the music. I gave 
him a copy of it, and it was soon sung in several 
churches and well received. At the suggestion of 
friends, I sent a copy to Professor Theodore Perkins, 
and it was published in 'Sabbath Chords.' Under the 
providence of God, it has been going ever since. I 
trust that it has not failed in the accomplishment of 
some good to my fellow-men, for the glory of God." 



On New Year's night, 1886, some missionaries 
were holding open-air services in order to attract 
passers-by to a near-by mission, where meetings were 
to be held later. "All to Christ I owe" was sung, and 
after a gentleman had given a short address he 
hastened away to the mission. He soon heard foot- 
steps close behind him and a young woman caught up 
with him and said : 

" I heard you addressing the open-air meeting 
just now ; do you think, sir, that Jesus could save a 
sinner like me ? " 

The gentleman replied that there was no doubt 
about that, if she was anxious to be saved. She told 
him that she was a servant girl, and had left her place 
that morning after a disagreement with her mistress. 
As she had been wandering about the streets in the 



Of the Gospel Hymns 61 

dark, wondering where she was to spend the night, the 
sweet melodies of this hymn had attracted her, and 
she drew near and listened attentively. As the differ- 
ent verses were being sung, she felt that the words 
surely had something to do with her. Through the 
whole service she seemed to hear what met her op- 
pressed soul's need at that moment. God's Spirit had 
showed her what a poor, sinful and wretched creature 
she was, and had led her to ask what she must do. 
On hearing her experience, the gentleman took her 
back to the mission and left her with the ladies in 
charge. The young, wayward woman was brought to 
Christ that night. A situation was secured for her 
in a minister's family. There she became ill and had 
to be taken to a hospital. She rapidly failed and it 
became evident that she would not be long on earth. 
One day the gentleman whom she met on New Year's 
night was visiting her in the ward. After quoting a 
few suitable verses of Scripture, he repeated her 
favorite hymn, "All to Christ I owe." On coming to 
the fourth verse — 

"When from my dying bed 

My ransomed soul shall rise, 
Then 'Jesus paid it all,' 

Shall rend the vaulted skies," 

she seemed overwhelmed with the thought of coming 
glory, and repeated the chorus so precious to her, 

" Jesus paid it all, 
All to Him I owe." 

Two hours afterward she passed away. 



62 Sankeys Story 

Almost Persuaded 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Bliss 

'"Almost persuaded,' now to believe; 
'Almost persuaded,' Christ to receive." 

" He who is almost persuaded is almost saved, 
and to be almost saved is to be entirely lost," were the 
words with which the Rev. Mr. Brundage ended one 
of his sermons. P. P. Bliss, who was in the audience, 
was much impressed with the thought, and immedi- 
ately set about the composition of what proved to be 
one of his most popular songs. 

One of the most impressive occasions on which 
this hymn was sung was in the Agricultural Hall in 
London, in 1874, when Mr. Gladstone was present. 
At the close of his sermon Mr. Moody asked the con- 
gregation to bow their heads, while I sang "Almost 
Persuaded." The stillness of death prevailed through- 
out the audience of over fifteen thousand, as souls 
were making their decisions for Christ. 

"While engaged in evangelistic work in western 
Pennsylvania," writes the Rev. A. J. Furman, " I 
saw the people deeply moved by singing. I had begun 
my preparation to preach in the evening, from the 
text, 'Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian,' 

when it occurred to me that if Mrs. B , an estimable 

Christian and a most excellent singer, would sing, 
'Almost Persuaded' as a solo, great good might be 
done. At once I left the room and called on the 
lady, who consented to sing as requested. When I 



Of the Gospel Hymns 63 

had finished my sermon, she sang the song with won- 
derful pathos and power. It moved many to tears. 
Among them was the principal of the high school, 
who could not resist the appeal through that song. 
He and several others found the Pearl of Great Price 
before the next day. After the close of the sermon, I 

spoke to Mrs. B about the effect of her singing, 

and she told me that she had been praying earnestly 
all that afternoon, that she might so sing as to win 
sinners for her Saviour that night, and her prayers 
were surely answered." 

" It was Sunday night, November 18, 1883," 
writes Mr. S. W. Tucker, of Clapton, London, "when 
I heard you sing 'Almost Persuaded' in the Priory 
Hall, Islington, London, and God used that song in 
drawing me to the feet of Jesus. I was afraid to trust 
myself in His hands for fear of man. For six weeks 
that hymn was ringing in my ears, till I accepted the 
invitation. I came, and am now rejoicing in the Lord, 
my Saviour. How often, with tears of joy and love, 
have I thought of those meetings and of you and dear 
Mr. Moody, who showed me and other sinners where 
there was love, happiness and joy." 

Said a young man to the Rev. Mr. Young : "I in- 
tend to become a Christian some time, but not now. 
Don't trouble yourself about me. I'll tend to it in good 
time." A few weeks after, the man was injured in a 
saw-mill, and, as he lay dying, Mr. Young was called 
to him. He found him in despair, saying: "Leave 



6\ Sankey s Story 

me alone. At your meeting I was almost persuaded, 
but I would not yield, and now it is too late. Oh, 
get my wife, my sisters and my brothers to seek God, 
and do it now, but leave me alone, for I am lost." 
Within an hour he passed away, with these words on 
his lips, "I am lost, I am lost, just because I would 
not yield when I was almost persuaded." 



Are You Coming Home To-night? 

Words by C. C. Music by James McGranahaa 

" Are you coming Home, ye wand'rers 
Whom Jesus died to win? " 

A wild young soldier was induced to attend a Gos- 
pel meeting in London. As he entered, the congrega- 
tion was singing " Are you coming Home to-night?" 
The song made a deep impression upon him. He 
came back the next night, and he continued to attend 
until he was saved. " I had to come," he said ; " that 
hymn would not let me stay away. I could not sleep 
at night. All night long that question of the song, 
both in the words and music, kept returning to me, 
demanding an answer : ' Are you coming Home to- 
night?' " 

/** 

The original of this hymn was written by a young 
lady in Scotland, who signed herself " C. C." Falling 
into Mr. McGranahan's hands, he arranged the poem 
somewhat differently, and set the words to music. 
The song has brought blessing to many. 



Of the Gospel Hymns 65 

Arise, My Soul, Arise 

Words by Charles Wesley Music by Lewis Edson 

"Arise, my soul, arise, 
Shake off thy guilty fears." 

First published in 1742 under the title, "Behold 
the Man," this became one of the most useful of 
Charles Wesley's numerous hymns. In universal use 
in English countries, and translated into many lan- 
guages, it has been the direct instrumentality in the 
conversion of thousands of souls. It has found ex- 
pression in the exultant cry on the lips of many a 
dying saint. 

"I have a record," said a Wesleyan missionary 
laboring in the West Indies, "of two hundred persons, 
young and old, who received the most direct evidence 
of the forgiveness of their sins while singing 'Arise, 
my soul.' The conversion of the greater number of 
these persons took place while I was a missionary 
abroad." 

Art Thou Weary ? 

Words by the Rev. J. M. Neale, trans. Music by the Rev. Henry W. Baker 

" Art thou weary, art thou languid, 
Art thou sore distressed?" 

"Some years ago," writes Mr. James A. Watson, 
of Blackburn, England, "I often visited one of our 
adult Sunday-school scholars who had just been 
brought to the knowledge of the Saviour. She was 
formerly a Roman Catholic, but was brought to our 
church one Sunday evening by a fellow-worker in a 
cotton mill. She heard a gospel of full and free sal- 
vation, embraced it, and gradually became a faith-filled, 
consistent Christian. She was laid low with a serious 



66 Sankeys Story 

illness, but it was always a pleasure to visit her. On 
one occasion she told me that the evening before, when 
she had been left alone for the night, a cloud came 
over her spirit, the sense of loneliness grew upon her, 
and she seemed forsaken of God. All looked black, 
and she dreaded the long, lone night. This was a 
most unusual thing and she wondered why it should 
be so. Just then, in the quiet night, she heard steps 
on the flags of the foot-way. A man wearing the clogs 
of the factory operator was coming along, evidently 
returning late from some religious meeting. He was 
full of joy, for before he reached the house where my 
scholar was lying awake, he struck up in a joyful and 
loud song, 

"Art thou weary, art thou languid? 
Art thou sore distressed? 
'Come to Me,' saith One; 
And coming, be at rest!" 

The singer, 'an angel in clogs,' went on his way, sing- 
ing aloud out of a full heart ; but deep down into the 
heart of the lonely woman went the words, 'Be at rest !' 
Again she cast herself upon the Lord ; the cloud 
parted, peace and rest filled her heart, and she doubted 
no more." 

Asleep in Jesus 

Words by Mrs. Margaret Mackay Music by W. B. Bradbury 

"Asleep in Jesus! blessed sleep! 
From which none ever wake to weep." 

" I had been driven in a friend's pony-carriage 
through some of the exquisite green lanes in Devon- 
shire," wrote the author of this hymn the year before 
her death. " We paused at Pennycross, attracted by 



Of the Gospel Hymns 67 

a rural burial-ground, and went in to look at the 
graves. It was a place of such sweet, entire repose 
as to leave a lasting impression on the memory. There 
were no artificial walks or decorations, but the grass 
was very green, and there were no unsightly signs of 
neglect. On one of the stones were the words, 
' Sleeping in Jesus.' It was in such entire keeping with 
the lovely and peaceful surroundings that it clung to 
my thoughts. On arriving at home I took a pencil 
and commenced writing the hymn, little thinking that 
il was destined to find so much favor, and that part of 
it would be inscribed on many tombstones." 

Mrs. Mackay was born in Scotland, and died at 
Cheltenham, England, in 1887, at the age of eighty- 
five. Her husband was a distinguished lieutenant- 
colonel in the British army. 

At the Cross 

Words by Isaac Watts Music by R. E. Hudson 

"Alas! and did my Saviour bleed? 
And did my Sovereign die?" 

" At the Cross " is the name of the new tune by 
R. E. Hudson for the old hymn by Watts, " Alas, and 
did my Saviour bleed." The words were first pub- 
lished in Watts' " Hymns and Spiritual Songs," in 
1707, under the title, " Godly Sorrow Arising from the 
Sufferings of Christ." In " Sacred Songs and Solos " 
the new tune is used to the hymn " I'm not ashamed 
to own my Lord." 

The children's evangelist, E. P. Hammond, 
credits this hymn with his conversion, when he was 
only seventeen years old. 



68 Sankeys Story 

Beautiful River 

Words by Robert Lowry Music by Robert Lowry 

"Shall we gather at the river 
Where bright angel feet have trod?" 

On a sultry afternoon in July, 1864, Dr. Lowry 
was sitting at his study table in Elliott Place, Brooklyn, 
when the words of the hymn, " Shall we gather at the 
river?" came to him. He recorded them hastily, and 
then sat down before his parlor organ and composed 
the tune which is now sung in all the Sunday-schools 
of the world. In speaking of the song, Dr. Lowry 
said : 

" It is brass-band music, has a march movement, 
and for that reason has become popular, though, for 
myself, I do not think much of it. Yet on several 
occasions I have been deeply moved by the singing of 
this very hymn. Going from Harrisburg to Lewisburg 
once I got into a car filled with half-drunken lumber- 
men. Suddenly one of them struck up, ' Shall we 
gather at the river? ' and they sang it over and over 
again, repeating the chorus in a wild, boisterous way. 
T did not think so much of the music then, as I listened 
to those singers ; but I did think that perhaps the spirit 
of the hymn, the words so flippantly uttered, might 
somehow survive and be carried forward into the lives 
of those careless men, and ultimately lift them upward 
to the realization of the hope expressed in the hymn. 
A different appreciation of it was evinced during the 
Robert Raikes centennial. I was in London, and had 
gone to a meeting in the Old Bailey to see some of the 
most famous Sundav-school workers of the world. 



Of the Gospel Hymns 69 

They were present from Europe, Asia and America. 
I sat in a rear seat alone. After there had been a num- 
ber of addresses delivered in various languages I was 
preparing to leave, when the chairman of the meeting 
announced that the author of ' Shall we gather at the 
river ? ' was present, and I was requested by name to 
come forward. Men applauded and women waved 
their handkerchiefs as I went to the platform. It was 
a tribute to the hymn ; but I felt, after it was over, that 
I had perhaps done some little good in the world." 



The year after it was written, on Children's Day, 
in Brooklyn, when the assembled Sunday-schools of 
the city met in bewildering array, this song was sung 
by more than forty thousand voices. There was not 
a child from the gutter or a mission waif who did not 
know it. 

An American lady writing from Cairo, who was 
allowed to visit the military hospital soon after some 
wounded men had been brought in from a skirmish, 
says : " The three hours we could stay were full of 
work for heart and hand. One young soldier from a 
Highland regiment especially excited my interest. He 
had lost a limb, and the doctor said he could not live 
through the night. I stopped at his side to see whether 
there was anything that I could do for him. He lay 
with closed eyes ; and as his lips moved I caught the 
words, ' Mother, mother.' I dipped my handkerchief 
in a basin of iced water, and bathed his forehead where 
the fever flushes burned. 



yo Sankeys Story 

" 'Oh, that is good !' he said, opening his eyes. 
Seeing me bending over him, he caught my hand and 
kissed it. ' Thank you, lady,' he said ; ' it 'minds me o' 
mother.' 

" I asked him if I could write to his mother. No, 
he said ; the surgeon had promised to write ; but could 
I ; would I, sing to him? I hesitated a moment, and 
looked around. The gleam on the yellow water of the 
Nile, as the western rays slanted down, caught my eye 
and suggested the river the streams of which shall 
make glad the city of God. I began to sing in a low 
voice the gospel hymn, ' Shall we gather at the river? ' 
Eager heads were raised around us to listen more in- 
tently, while bass and tenor voices, weak and tremu- 
lous, came in on the chorus, — 

'Yes, we'll gather at the river, 
The beautiful, the beautiful river; 
Gather with the saints at the river 
That flows by the throne of God.' 

" When the song was ended, I looked into the face 
of the boy — for he was not over twenty — and asked, 
' Shall you be there ? ' 

" ' Yes, I'll be there, through what the Lord Jesus 
has done for me ? ' he answered, with his blue eyes 
shining, while a 'light that never was on sea or land ' 
irradiated his face. The tears gathered in my eyes as 
I thought of the mother, in her far-off Scottish home, 
watching and waiting for tidings of her soldier boy, 
who was breathing away his life in an Egyptian hos- 
pital. 

" ' Come again, lady, come again,' I heard on all 



Of the Gospel Hyjnns 7 1 

sides as we left the barracks. I shall go ; but I shall 
not find my Scottish laddie, for by to-morrow's reveille 
he will have crossed the river." 



Beautiful Valley of Eden 

Words by the Rev. W. O. Cushing Music by William F. Sherwin 

"Beautiful valley of Eden! 
Sweet is thy noon-tide calm." 

"One day in 1875 I was reaching up for a bless- 
ing," says the author of these words, "when suddenly 
there came down upon my heart a vision of the heav- 
enly country. I seemed to look down upon a river 
that like a mighty tide rolled beneath me. Across, on 
the other side of this river, I saw an enchanted land ; its 
hills and valleys were sleeping in a heavenly calm. It 
was more beautiful than words can tell, and my heart 
seemed to be there. As I gazed on the scene, there 
came to my lips the words, ' Beautiful valley of Eden.' 
The vision remained until I had written down the 
hymn ; then it gradually faded from my sight. But I 
want to say that the beauty of the hymn is largely due 
to Mr. Sherwin, who, by his rich melody, has reached 
a deeper chord than any mere words could ever have 
reached." 

Beulah Land 

Words by E. P. Stites Music by John R. Sweney 

"I've reached the land of corn and wine, 
And all its riches freely mine." 

First sung at Ocean Grove, New Jersey, at a great 
gathering of Methodists, this hymn at once became 
very popular. It has been sung in every land where 



72 Sankeys Story 

the name of Christ is known. The secretary of the 
Young Men's Christian Association at Plymouth, Eng- 
land, wrote me a beautiful story of a young lady, who 
sang it on her dying bed as she passed into the land 
that is fairer than day. 

I sang this favorite song over the dead body of my 
friend, Mr. Sweney, at the church of which he was a 
leading member, in West Chester, Pennsylvania, on 
the day of his burial. 



Blessed Assurance 

Words by Fanny J. Crosby Music by Mrs. Joseph F. Knapp 

"Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! 
O, what a foretaste of glory divine!" 

" During the recent war in the Transvaal," said a 
gentleman at my meeting in Exeter Hall,- London, in 
1900, " when the soldiers going to the front were pass- 
ing another body of soldiers whom they recognized, 
their greetings used to be, ' Four-nine-four, boys ; four- 
nine-four ;' and the salute would invariably be an- 
swered with ' Six further on, boys ; six further on.' 
The significance of this was that, in ' Sacred Songs 
and Solos,' a number of copies of the small edition of 
which had been sent to the front, number 494 was, 
4 God be with you till we meet again ;' and six further 
on than 494, or number 500, was ' Blessed Assurance, 
Jesus is mine.' " ^ 

One of the most popular and useful of the " Gos- 
pel Hymns," this was sung by a large delegation of 



Of the Gospel Hymns 73 

Christian Endeavorers on the train to Minneapolis, 
some years ago. And it was often sung at night as 
the street-cars were crowded with passengers on their 
way to the Convention Hall, greatly to the delight 
of the people of that city. 



Blest be the Tie that Binds 

Words by the Rev. John Fawcett Music by H. G. Nageli 

"Blest be the tie that binds 
Our hearts in Christian love." 

Dr. John Fawcett was the pastor of a small church 
at Wainsgate, and was called from there to a larger 
church in London in 1772. He accepted the call and 
preached his farewell sermon. The wagons were 
loaded with his books and furniture, and all was ready 
for the departure, when his parishioners gathered 
around him, and with tears in their eyes begged of him 
to stay. His wife said, " Oh, John, John, I cannot 
bear this." " Neither can I," exclaimed the good par- 
son, " and we will not go. Unload the wagons and put 
everything as it was before." His decision was hailed 
with great joy by his people, and he wrote the words 
of this hymn in commemoration of the event. This 
song, and " God be with you till we meet again," are 
the most useful farewell hymns in the world. 



Mr. Moody used to tell of a Sunday-school 
teacher, to whom he had given a class of girls, who 
one day came to Mr. Moody's store much disheartened. 



74 Sankey s Story 

He had suffered from hemorrhage of the lungs, and 
his doctor had ordered him to leave Chicago. He was 
sad because he felt that he had not made a true effort 
to save his class. At Mr. Moody's proposal that they 
go to visit each of the class members, they took a 
carriage and at once began the work, the young man 
in his feebleness saying what he could to each. At a 
farewell meeting where they were all gathered, they 
endeavored to sing " Blest be the tie that binds," but 
their hearts were full and their voices failed. Every 
member of the class yielded her heart to God. 

Calling Now 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Bliss 

"This loving Saviour stands patiently; 
Tho' oft rejected, calls again for thee." 

A song somewhat similar to this I remember sing- 
ing as a solo in Mr. Moody's Tabernacle in Chicago 
at the close of an evangelistic meeting in 1872. Mr. 
Bliss came in late and stood just inside the door, listen- 
ing. At the close of the meeting he came up to the 
platform and spoke enthusiastically about the piece, 
and remarked that he also would try to write a hymn 
on "The Prodigal." Not long afterward I heard him 
sing this beautiful hymn, which he himself entitled 
" Calling Now." It has been especially useful in 
inquiry-meetings and at the close of evangelistic ad- 
dresses. I have often heard it sung with great effect — 
very softly by a choir, while the workers were speaking 
to the anxious ones — and its soft, sweet, pleading tones 
were always blessed to the hearers. 



Of the Gospel Hymns 75 

"Come" 

Words by Mrs. James G. Johnson Music by James McGranahan 

" O word of words the sweetest, 
O word, in which there lie — " 

As these words were sung at one of our meetings 
in Baltimore, a man arose and left the building, declar- 
ing that he had never heard such twaddle in all his life. 
When he reached home he tore the hymn out of his 
hymn-book and threw it into the fire ; but he said after- 
ward that the words still rang in his heart and that he 
could not get rid of them. At last he came to Mr. 
Moody and said : " I am a vile sinner, and I want you 
to tell me how I can come to Jesus and be saved." 
Moody was enabled to lead him into the light, and the 
man afterward declared that this was the sweetest 
hymn in all the book. 

Come Believing 

Words by D. W. Whittle (" El. Nathan ") Music by James McGranahan 

" Once again the Gospel message 
From the Saviour you have heard." 

A lawyer from the West sank so low as to become 
a tramp in the streets of New York. He was fifty- 
four years old and a homeless, penniless wretch. As 
he stumbled by the Florence Mission one night the 
windows were open and he stopped a moment to listen 
to the singing. They sang: 

"Once again the Gospel message 
From the Saviour you have heard; 
Will you heed the invitation? 
Will you turn and seek the Lord?" 



J 6 Sankey's Story 

It came like the voice of God to him. His early 
training had been Christian, and he thought he would 
go in. He did so, and as he took his seat they were 
singing the second verse : 

"Many summers you have wasted, 

Ripened harvests you have seen; 
Winter snows by spring have melted, 

Yet you linger in your sin." 

He realized that this was a truthful picture of his 
own life, and listened to the third verse, ending: 

" While the Spirit now is striving. 
Yield, and seek the Saviour's side." 

Deeply convicted, he jumped to his feet and said, " I 
will yield, I will seek the Saviour's side." He was 
converted, and attended the meetings regularly. He 
secured good employment, wrote to his family, and 
becoming reconciled to his wife and children, he re- 
turned West to the old home, where he lived as an 
earnest Christian. 



Come, Great Deliverer, Come 

Words by Fanny J. Crosby Music by W. H. Doane 

"O hear my cry, be gracious now to me, 
Come, Great Deliv'rer, come." 

" A short time ago, about twelve o'clock one frosty 
Saturday night, when the keen winter wind was driving 
all indoors who had a home, a poor woman, in utter 
misery and despair, was pacing up and down along the 
Thames," writes a friend in England. " She had wan- 
dered into a mission hall during the evening and had 



Of the Gospel Hymns J J 

restlessly come out, carrying no remembrance of any- 
thing that had been said ; but these lines from a hymn 
still sounded in her ears : 

'I've wandered far away o'er mountains cold, 
I've wandered far away from home; 
O take me now, and bring me to Thy fold, 
Come, Great Deliv'rer, come." 

" She cried aloud : ' But there is no deliverer for 
me.' Very soon she was met by some Christian work- 
ers, who were spending the night in seeking to gather 
in such outcasts as she. They took her to a home. The 
human tenderness revealed to her the divine love. If 
strangers had thus received her and cared for her, 
would not her Heavenly Father, whose love she had 
heard of, take her? Thus she was led to the feet of 
Jesus, and to find that her sins were many and all for- 
given. She said : ' Things since then have been up 
and down with me, but I have never lost the peace I 
found that morning.' " 

Come, Sinner, Come 

Words by the Rev. W. E. Witter Music by H. R. Palmer 

"While Jesus whispers to you, 
Come, sinner, come." 

Mr. Witter has said regarding this hymn : "I may 
say that the origin of ' While Jesus whispers to you ' is 
forever linked with some of the most sacred experi- 
ences of my life. I see the old farmhouse in New York 
State, overlooking the beautiful Wyoming Valley, and 
those Western hills, which to my childhood eyes were 
the rim of the world. It was in the summer of 1877 
and I was home from college to nurse my sainted 



yS San key 's Story 

mother through her last illness, and at the same time 
I was teaching a term in school. The biography of 
P. P. Bliss was in our home, and his sweet songs were 
running through my mind from morn till evening. I 
prayed that even I might be inspired to write such 
hymns as would touch hard hearts and lead them to 
Christ. One Saturday afternoon, while bunching the 
hay which had been mown along the roadside, the 
words of this little hymn seemed to sing themselves 
into my soul, and with music almost identical with that 
to which they were later set by the sweet singer, 
Palmer. I hastened to the house and, running upstairs, 
knelt beside the bed of a brother, for whose salvation 
my mother was in constant prayer. There, upon my 
knees, I transcribed the words to paper, with a strange 
consciousness that they were God-given and that God 
would use them." 

And God has used them, for this hymn has been 
found very helpful as an invitation at revival meetings. 

Come, Thou Fount 

Words by the Rev. R. Robinson Music by John Wyeth 

"Come thou Fount of ev'ry blessing 
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace." 

The author of this hymn, born in 1735, was of 
lowly parentage. At the age of fourteen his widowed 
mother sent him to London to learn the trade of barber 
and hair-dresser. His master found him more given 
to reading than to his profession. While in London 
he attended meetings held by the great evangelist, 
George Whitefield, became converted, and began to 
study for the ministry. In the latter part of his life 



Of the Gospel Hymns 79 

Mr. Robinson often indulged in frivolous habits. But 
on one occasion, while traveling in a stage-coach, he 
encountered a lady who soon compelled him to admit 
his acquaintance with religion. She had just been 
reading this hymn, and she asked his opinion of it, after 
having told him of the blessings it had brought to her 
heart. He avoided the subject and turned her atten- 
tion to some other topic; but the lady, who did not 
know to whom she was talking, soon returned to the 
hymn, expressing her strong admiration for its senti- 
ments. Agitated beyond the power of controlling his 
emotion, Robinson broke out : 

" Madam, I am the poor, unhappy man who com- 
posed that hymn many years ago, and I would give a 
thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I 
had then." 

Come to the Saviour 

Words by George F. Root Music by George F. Root 

"Come to the Saviour, make no delay; 
Here in His word He's shown us the way." 

" In 1879 I was assisting in revival meetings in 
Danville, California," writes the pastor of a Presby- 
terian Church at Oakland. " The meetings were well 
attended and good interest was exhibited, but for a 
long time there were no conversions. In the neighbor- 
hood there was a man who, with his wife and children, 
attended the church regularly, and he was one of its 
liberal supporters. They were most excellent people, but 
could not be induced to profess Christ, and did not call 
themselves Christians. One day, while the men were 
holding services in the church the women were having 



80 San key s Story 

a prayer-meeting in the manse near by. In the course 
of the meeting they sang, ' Come to the Saviour, make 
no delay.' The singing over, they were about to en- 
gage in prayer, when the lady above referred to asked 
them to sing the last verse of this hymn. They sang: 

'Think once again, He's with us to-day; 
Heed now His blest commands, and obey; 
Hear now His accents tenderly say, 
Will you, my children, come?' 

" The lady was greatly affected and when the 
singing ceased she said with deep emotion : ' Yes, I 
will come ; I have been very stubborn, but I will not 
stay away any longer.' The women were all deeply 
moved, and prayed and praised God with warm hearts. 
When the word reached the men they were greatly 
encouraged at the good news. A revival followed, 
and at the close of a touching service a few days later, 
when a call was made for persons who desired to unite 
with the church, this lady and her husband were the 
first to respond. They were followed by some of their 
own children and many other persons — in all twenty- 
one. This hymn seemed to have been the means of 
reaching the wife's heart, and of opening the way for 
the blessing which followed." 

Come Unto Me 

Words by Nathaniel Norton Music by George C. Stebbins 

" 'Come unto Me!' it is the Saviour's voice — 
The Lord of life, who bids thy heart rejoice." 

A man of culture and of extensive reading had 
given a good deal of thought to the subject of Chris- 
tianity, but had never acknowledged himself a Chris- 



Of the Gospel Hy7nns 8 1 

tian until one evening at the close of an after-meeting 
in services conducted by Dr. George F. Pentecost in his 
own church in Brooklyn. Then he arose and made a 
public confession of Christ as his Saviour. That 
night, on his return home, he sat down and wrote the 
words of this hymn. The next day they were handed 
to Mr. Stebbins, who was then assisting Dr. Pentecost. 
Very soon afterward the hymn was sung in the meet- 
ings that were still in progress. It at once met with 
general favor, and for many years was used as a special 
song of invitation in our meetings, as well as by other 
evangelists in theirs. 



Come Unto Me, and Rest 

Words by D. W. Whittle (" El. Nathan ") Music by James McGranahan 

"Brother, art thou worn and weary, 
Tempted, tried, and sore oppress'd?" 

"On a cold night in the fall of 1885, a scantily clad 
man wandered into Bleecker Street," writes a New 
York evangelist, under whose personal observation the 
incident came. "He was foot-sore and weary with 
much wandering, worn out for want of sleep, and faint 
from lack of food. The long, cold night was before 
him, and he knew he must walk the street till morning. 
He stepped into a doorway for a little rest. As he 
sat there he fell to pondering. He was solitary and 
sad-hearted. Drink had wrought fearful havoc with 
him, and had left him a homeless, friendless man. 
Home and loved ones, friends, money and position had 
all been sacrificed to this appetite. He felt that he 
was lost, and that no effort could save him. As he 



82 Sankey's Story 

thus mused his reverie was broken by the sound of 
song. Surprised, he looked up in the direction from 
which the sound came, and saw across the way an illu- 
minated sign on which were the words, ' Florence Mis- 
sion.' Glad to get away from the chill and gloom of 
the street, he went into the mission. As he entered a 
lady was singing: 

'Brother, art thou worn and weary, 

Tempted, tried, and sore oppress'd? 
Listen to the word of Jesus, 
Come unto me, and rest!' 

"If there was one thing on earth that the man 
needed it was rest. Rest for the tired, famished body ; 
rest for the tortured heart. ' These things are not for 
me,' he thought ; ' I am too far gone.' He wandered 
the cold streets till morning, but never once did the 
words of this hymn leave him. The refrain constantly 
rang in his ears, ' Come unto me and rest.' He visited 
the mission many nights, and finally gave his heart to 
God." 

The evangelist adds that this man has been his 
assistant for many years, and has won hundreds to 
Christ. 



Consecration 

Words by Frances R. Havergal Music by W. A. Mozart. Arr. by H. P. Main 

" Take my life, and let it be 
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee." 

One of the finest consecration hymns in the 
world, this is a great favorite of the Christian Endeavor 
Society. Miss Havergal told me of its origin, while 



Of the Gospel Hymns 83 

we were seated in her home in South Wales. She 
had gone to London for a visit of five days. There 
were ten persons in the family she visited, most of 
them unconverted. She prayed to God to give her all 
in the house, and before leaving everyone had received 
a blessing. The last night of her visit, after she had 
retired, the governess told her that the two daughters 
wished to see her. They were much troubled over 
their spiritual condition and were weeping, but Miss 
Havergal was able to show them the way of life, and 
they were both joyfully converted that night. She was 
too happy to sleep, she said, but spent most of the night 
in praise and renewal of her own consecration ; and 
that night the words of this hymn formed themselves 
in her mind. In 1879, shortly before her death, I gave 
a number of Bible-readings in Miss Havergal's home, 
when she told me the very interesting story of her life. 
A few years later I met Miss Havergal's sister 
again under somewhat amusing conditions. I was 
traveling in Switzerland. While looking through a 
large music establishment I found quite a number of 
music boxes, which played several of the "Moody and 
Sankey " hymns. I asked the proprietor if these boxes 
had much of a sale. He said they had, though he did 
not think much of the tunes they played. Beside me 
was standing a lady, also looking at the music boxes. 
She proved to be Miss Havergal's sister. As she 
turned around and saw me, she threw up her hands and 
said in a clear voice, " Oh, Mr. Sankey, is that you? " 
The proprietor proceeded to make profound apologies 
and, selecting one of his best boxes, he presented it 
to me. 



84 Sankefs Story 

Dare to be a Daniel 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Bliss 

"Standing by a purpose true, 
Heeding God's command." 
Mr. Bliss wrote this song especially for his 
Sunday-school class in the First Congregational 
Church of Chicago. It has been much admired and 
was often used by me in connection with Mr. Moody's 
lecture on Daniel. This hymn and " Hold the Fort " 
were prohibited by the Sultan from use in Turkey. 

Dark is the Night 

Words by Fanny J. Crosby Music by T. E. Perkini 

" Dark is the night, and cold the wind is blowing, 

Nearer and nearer comes the breakers' roar;" 
When I was chorister in Mr. Moody's Sunday- 
school, on the north side of Chicago, we frequently 
used this hymn. On the memorable Sunday night 
when the city was destroyed by fire, and I had made 
my escape in a small boat out into Lake Michigan, this 
song came to my mind, and as I sat there watching 
the city burn I sang : 

"Dark is the night, and cold the wind is blowing, 
Nearer and nearer comes the breakers' roar; 
Where shall I go, or whither fly for refuge? 
Hide me, my Father, till the storm is o'er." 

Depth of Mercy 

Words by Charles Wesley Music arr. from J. Stevenson 

"Depth of mercy! can there be 
Mercy still reserved for me?" 

An actress in a town in England, while passing 
along the street, heard singing in a house. Out of 
curiosity she looked in through the open door and saw 



Of the Gospel Hymns 85 

a number of people sitting together singing this hymn. 
She listened to the song, and afterwards to a simple 
but earnest prayer. When she went away the hymn 
had so impressed her that she procured a copy of a 
book containing it. Reading and re-reading the hymn 
led her to give her heart to God and to resolve to leave 
the stage. The manager of the theater pleaded with 
her to continue to take the leading part in a play which 
she had made famous in other cities, and finally he per- 
suaded her to appear at the theater. As the curtain 
rose the orchestra began to play the accompaniment 
to the song which she was expected to sing. She 
stood like one lost in thought, and the band, supposing 
her embarrassed, played the prelude over a second 
and a third time. Then with clasped hands she step- 
ped forward and sang with deep emotion : 

"Depth of mercy, can there be 
Mercy still reserved for me?" 

This put a sudden stop to the performance; not 
a few were impressed, though many scoffed. The 
change in her life was as permanent as it was singular. 
Soon after she became the wife of a minister of the 
Gospel. 



First published in " Hymns and Sacred Poems " 
in 1740, this hymn has been set to a number of tunes. 
But the most popular one in America is the melody 
arranged from Stevenson, with the chorus, "God is 
love ! I know, I feel ; Jesus lives and loves me still." 



86 Sankeys Story 

Doxology 

Words by Thomas Ken, 1695 Music by Wilhelm Frank 

" Praise God, from whom all blessings flow." 
Praise Him, all creatures here below." 

On the night of October 15, 1884, a great crowd 
was gathered on the street outside a Republican head- 
quarters in New York City, awaiting the returns of an 
important election. It was two o'clock in the morn- 
ing before the last bulletin was posted. Previous to 
this announcement a thousand voices had been singing 
uproariously, "We won't go home till morning;" but 
the moment the message was displayed the stereopti- 
con flashed out the line, " Praise God, from whom all 
blessings flow. Good night." The Tribune, in re- 
porting the incident, said : "A deep-voiced man in the 
throng pitched the doxology, and a mighty volume 
of song swelled upward. Then the lights went out and 
the happy watchers departed to their homes." 

A child on the top of Mount Washington was with 
her father above the clouds, while a thunder-storm 
flashed and rumbled below. Where they stood all was 
perfect calm and sunshine, though the eye found noth- 
ing but the blue of heaven and a few rocks to rest on. 
" Well, Lucy," said her father, " there is nothing to be 
seen here, is there?" But the child exclaimed: " Oh, 
papa, I see the doxology ! All around seems to say, 

' Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; 
Praise Him, all creatures here below; 
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; 
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.' " 



Of the Gospel Hymns 87 

The doxology was a great solace to the starving 
" boys in blue " in Libby prison. Day after day they 
saw some of their comrades passing away, while fresh, 
living recruits for the grave arrived. Late one night 
they heard through the stillness and the darkness the 
tramp of new arrivals, who were stopped outside the 
prison door until arrangement could be made for them 
within. In the company was a young Baptist minister, 
whose heart almost fainted as he looked on those cold 
walls and thought of the suffering inside. Tired and 
weary, he sat down, put his face in his hands and wept. 
Just then a lone voice of deep, sweet pathos, sang from 
an upper window : 

"Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;" 

a dozen more voices joined in the second line ; and so 
on till the prison was all alive and seemed to quiver 
with the sacred song. As the song died away in the 
stillness of the night, the young man arose and said : 

"Prisons would palaces prove, 
If Jesus would dwell with me there." 



This doxology has been almost universally 
adopted as a praise hymn by all churches. Wilhelm 
Frank, the composer of the tune, "Old Hundred," was 

a German. 

/^> 

The first Moody and Sankey meeting held in the 
Agricultural Hall, London, was opened by the singing 
of " Praise God, from whom all blessings flow." 



88 Sankeys Story 

Eternity- 
words by Ellen M. H. Gates Music by P. P. Bliss 

"Oh, the clanging bells of Time! 
Night and day they never cease." 

Having carried in my pocket for several months 
the words of the hymn "Eternity," which the author, 
Ellen M. H. Gates, had sent me, I handed them, one 
day in Chicago in 1876, to my friend P. P. Bliss, ask- 
ing him to write music for them. Three days later he 
had composed the tune. 

The hymn was much used at our meetings both in 
Great Britain and the United States. Before singing 
it, I used to tell the story of Robert Annan, of Dundee, 
Scotland. He was one of the worst men who ever 
lived in that town, but after having been converted 
became one of the most useful missionaries of the 
place. On leaving his little cottage home one morning 
to go to his mission work, he took a piece of chalk from 
his pocket and wrote on the flagstone of the walk 
which led to his house the single word " Eternity." 
A few minutes later he saw a child fall from one of the 
vessels in the harbor. Being a bold, strong swimmer, 
he threw off his coat and shoes, and plunged into the 
bay. He saved the child, but at the cost of his own 
life. His body was carried home over the word 
"Eternity," which he had written a few hours before. 
On my last visit to Scotland, about five years ago, I 
went to see his widow, and found that the writing had 
been cut in the stone by direction of the Honorable 
James Gordon, the Earl of Aberdeen. Thousands go 
to see it every year. Mr. Annan's minister took me 



Of the Gospel Hymns 89 

to the beautiful cemetery of the place, where a fine 
monument, ten feet high, marks the last resting-place 
of the hero. 

A worker in the English Village Mission writes : 
" I had been engaged during the previous week with 
a lot of indifferent people in a midland village without 
the smallest token of blessing, and on that memorable 
Sunday night of the Tay Bridge disaster I went to the 
service with a sad heart. The service was a solemn 
one, and at the close we sang : 

( Oh, the clanging bells of Time! 
Night and day they never cease.' 

"The song touched the hearts of the people. About 
this time, as we afterwards learned, a number of con- 
versions occurred, and a blessing has rested on that 
place for many years. One of the converts has been 
a very successful missionary in a large northern city. 
I can scarcely remember any place where some one or 
more of your songs and solos was not used of God in 
blessing souls. In one church alone I received one 
hundred and fifty into fellowship, and I think not less 
than one-third of that number, when making applica- 
tion for membership, mentioned some particular hymn 
that had led them to decision." 

Evening Prayer 

Words by J. Edmeston Music by George C. Stebbins 

"Saviour, breathe an e^ning blessing, 
Ere repose our spirits seal." 
It rarely falls to the lot of any hymn to be sung 
under such trying circumstances as was this, during the 
Boxer outbreak in China, by a company of beleaguered 



90 Sankeys Story 

missionaries who had gathered together one night in 
great fear lest they should have to suffer the fate of so 
many who were giving up their lives rather than deny 
their Lord. The following account of the singing is 
furnished by Miss Helen Knox Strain, one of the mis- 
sionaries present that night. 

" The Woman's Union Missionary Society has a 
magnificent work just outside of the city of Shanghai. 
No harm had come to us up to this time, but serious 
threats and unpleasant rumors were rife ; we dared not 
so much as put our heads out at night, though forty 
little soldier-men played at keeping us safe. Our mis- 
sionaries have two centers at that place, and they meet 
often for prayer and consultation. At this particular 
time the rumors were so frightful, and the threats to 
burn our homes that very night so distressing, that we 
had a memorable meeting. Separated from home and 
friends, facing death in a far-off land, and full of ten- 
derest feelings, we lifted our hearts in song. 

" ' Though destruction walk around us, 
Though the arrows past us fly; 
Angel guards from Thee surround us: 
We are safe if Thou art nigh.' 

" Out of the storm each soul, renewing its 
strength, mounted up with wings as eagles and found 
peace in the secret of His presence. 

" Our Saviour breathed, in very deed, an ' evening 
blessing ' upon us, the fragrance of which remains 
even unto this day. The last verse of the hymn, 
1 Should swift death this night o'ertake us,' was omit- 
ted. It seemed too probable that it might. We 



Of the Gospel Hymns 91 

wanted only to think of the safe-keeping, and such, 
thank God, it proved to be." 

Edmeston, a voluminous hymn-writer, was an 
architect by profession, and a member of the Estab- 
lished Church at Homerton, England, where he re- 
sided. The theme of this hymn was suggested to 
him by a sentence in a volume of Abyssinian travels — 
" At night their short evening hymn, ' Jesus Forgive 
Us,' stole through the camp." Though first appear- 
ing in the author's " Sacred Lyrics " in 1820, and to 
be found in the older church hymnals, it had no spe- 
cial prominence until Mr. Stebbins' setting became 
known. Since then it has come into general use, and 
has been adopted by many of the church hymnals. 
The music was written in 1876, for the choir of Tre- 
mont Temple, Boston, of which Mr. Stebbins was 
then the director. Published two years later in " Gos- 
pel Hymns Number 3," it became a favorite at once 
with the great choirs of our meetings and with other 
evangelistic choirs, and has since then been used 
wherever the " Gospel Hymns " are sung, even in the 
remote places of the earth. 

Even Me 

Words by Mrs. Elizabeth Codner Music by William B. Bradbury 

"Lord, I hear of showers of blessing 
Thou art scattering full and free." 

A gentleman in England sends this incident : " A 
poor woman, in a dark village, attended a High Church 
mission, where the good Gospel hymn, ' Even Me ' 
was sung from a printed leaflet. A few days after- 



92 Sankeys Story 

ward the old woman became seriously ill, and soon she 
died. But she seemed to have taken in all the Gospel 
through this hymn, and to the last repeated with rever- 
ence and joy ' Even me, even me,' not remembering 
one word of the sermon that she heard at the mission. 
This was in 1877. Soon after we had an evangelistic 
meeting in the same village, in a barn three hundred 
) ? ears old, where this hymn was sung with great effect." 

Follow On 

Words by W. O. Cushing Music by Robert Lowry 

"Down in the valley with my Saviour I would go 
Where the flowers are blooming and the sweet waters flow." 

" I wrote this hymn in 1878," the Rev. W. O. 
Cushing tells me. " Longing to give up all for Christ 
who had given his life for me, I wanted to be willing 
to lay everything at his feet, with no wish but to do his 
will, to live henceforth only for his glory. Out of this 
feeling came the hymn, ' Follow On.' It was written 
with the prayer and the hope that some heart might 
by it be led to give up all for Christ. Much of the 
power and usefulness of the hymn, however, are due 
to Mr. Lowry, who put it into song." 

Go Bury Thy Sorrow 

Words by Mary A. Bachelor Music by P. P. Bliss 

"Go bury thy sorrow, 
The world hath its share." 

For many years this hymn was one of my favorite 
solos. In its original form it read, " Bury thy sorrow, 
hide it with care:" but when Mr. Bliss found it in a 



Of the Gospel Hymns 93 

newspaper he arranged it to read, "Go bury thy sor- 
row, the world hath its share," and set it to music. It 
has been blessed to thousands of people, and will remain 
as one of his best productions when many of his other 
songs are forgotten. 



The author of the hymn was the daughter of a 
minister. When she wrote these lines she was living 
with her brother, whom she greatly loved. He also 
was a minister, and had the usual cares and burdens to 
carry that are incident to a pastor's life. To him she 
confided all her joys and sorrows. One day, after hav- 
ing disclosed to him some peculiar trial which she was 
enduring, she was reproached by her conscience for 
having needlessly added to his already numerous cares. 
She stood by the open window, and saw the long, heavy 
shadows cast by the tall poplar trees across the lawn, 
and the thought came to her : 

" That is just what I have done to my brother ! 
Why did I do it ? Why did I not rather bury my own 
sorrow, and allow only words of cheer and brightness 
to reach his ears ? " 

With such thoughts in her mind, and with tears of 
regret filling her eyes, she retired to her little attic 
bedroom, and there wrote the hymn that has been so 

blessed. 

/^ 

A lady who had suffered much, and had passed 
through many great trials, set much store by this hymn. 
One day as she sang it her little daughter, who was 
playing in the room, looked up into her mother's face 



94 Sankey's Story 

and saw tears rolling down her cheeks. The child 
called out : 

" Mamma, are you digging the sorrows all up 
again?" 

God Be With You 

Words by J. E. Rankin, D.D. Music by W. G. Tomer 

"God be with you till we meet again; 
By His counsels guide, uphold you." 

The late Dr. Rankin, president of Howard Uni- 
versity, Washington, D. C, said regarding this oft- 
used parting hymn : " Written in 1882 as a Christian 
good-bye, it was called forth by no person or occasion, 
but was deliberately composed as a Christian hymn 
on the basis of the etymology of ' good-bye,' which is 
' God be with you.' The first stanza was written and 
sent to two composers — one of unusual note, the other 
wholly unknown and not thoroughly educated in 
music. I selected the composition of the latter, sub- 
mitted it to J. W. Bishoff — the musical director of a 
little book we were preparing — who approved of it, 
but made some criticisms, which were adopted. It 
was sung for the first time one evening in the First 
Congregational Church in Washington, of which I was 
then the pastor and Mr. Bishoff the organist. I at- 
tributed its popularity in no little part to the music 
to which it was set. It was a wedding of words and 
music, at which it was my function to preside ; but Mr. 
Tomer should have his full share of the family honor." 

William Gould Tomer, the author of the music, 
is of German ancestry. He has been a school teacher, 



Of the Gospel Hymns 95 

a soldier in the civil war, and a clerk in the Treasury 
department. He was teaching school in 1882 when 
he wrote the music of " God be with you." 



Hallelujah, 'tis Done ! 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Bliss 

" 'Tis the promise of God full salvation to give, 
Unto him who on Jesus, his Son, will believe." 

A minister from England, in telling of a certain 
meeting, says : " Among the converts was a man some- 
what advanced in years, who was very anxious about 
the salvation of his wife, and expressed a wish that I 
should visit her. I did so repeatedly, and explained 
to her in very simple words the plan of salvation, but 
she could not comprehend the meaning of my message. 
Every time I left, however, she would express a strong 
desire that I return. One day I went in just before 
dinner, and talked to her about Jesus, but no light 
seemed to dawn upon her mind. Then the thought 
struck me to sing something to her, and so I com- 
menced, ''Tis the promise of God, full salvation to 
give.' When I was through the chorus, she exclaimed, 
' Sing it over again.' I did so, time after time, and 
when I asked her to assist me, she joined in very 
heartily. The light dawned on her dark mind while 
we were singing, the big burden of sin was removed 
from her heart, and her face was lighted up with holy 
joy as she exclaimed, ' Hallelujah, 'tis done ! I do 
believe in the Son ; I am saved.' Just then her hus- 
band walked in for his dinner, and she shouted out to 
him, 'Ah, lad! I've got it! Hallelujah! 'tis done!' 



g6 Sankeys Story 

Their hearts were full of joy over the wonderful dis- 
covery she had made, and I was grateful to God for a 
sinner brought to Christ by the ministry of holy song." 

In compiling his book, " Gospel Songs," in 1874, 
Mr. Bliss desired to publish in it the well-known hymn, 
"Hallelujah! Thine the Glory," then much used in 
religious services. The owners of the copyright re- 
fused, and he wrote " Hallelujah, 'tis done," both 
words and music, to supply the want. Hundreds of 
souls have been led to decide for Christ by this hymn, 
and the church has reason to rejoice at that refusal. 



Hallelujah, what a Saviour 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Bliss 

" ' Man of Sorrows,' what a name 
For the Son of God, who came." 

Written in 1876, shortly before his death, this was 
the last hymn I heard Mr. Bliss sing. It was at a 
meeting in Farwell Hall in Chicago, conducted by 
Henry Moorehouse. A few weeks before his death 
Mr. Bliss visited the State prison at Jackson, Michigan, 
where, after a very touching address on " The Man 
of Sorrows," he sang this hymn with great effect. 
Many of the prisoners dated their conversion from 
that day. 

When Mr. Moody and I were in Paris, holding 
meetings in the old church which Napoleon had 
granted to the Evangelicals, I frequently sang this 
hymn as a solo, asking the congregation to join in the 



Of the Gospel Hymns 97 

single phrase, " Hallelujah, what a Saviour," which 
they did with splendid effect. It is said that the .word 
" Hallelujah " is the same in all languages. It seems 
as though God had prepared it for the great jubilee of 
heaven, when all his children shall have been gathered 
home to sing " Hallelujah to the Lamb ! " 

He Knows 

Words by Mary G. Brainard Music by P. P. Bliss 

" I know not what awaits me, 
God kindly veils mine eyes." 

Mr. Bliss lost his life in the terrible railroad wreck 
at Ashtabula, Ohio. His trunk, however, reached Chi- 
cago safely, as it had gone before by another train. 
In his trunk was discovered this hymn. Mr. Bliss had 
rearranged the words of the poem to some extent, and 
had composed the tune. Sentence by sentence, the 
words are full of pathetic interest in connection with 
the author's sudden death so soon afterward. 

He Leadeth Me 

Words by Joseph H. Gilmore Music by William B. Bradbury 

" He leadeth me! O, blessed thought! 
O, words with heavenly comfort fraught." 

" I had been talking," said Mr. Gilmore, " at the 
Wednesday evening lecture of the First Baptist Church 
of Philadelphia, in 1862. The Twenty-third Psalm was 
my theme, and I had been especially impressed with the 
blessedness of being led by God — of the mere fact of his 
leadership, altogether apart from the way in which he 



98 Sankeys Story 

leads us and what he is leading us to. At the close of 
the service we adjourned to Deacon Watson's home, 
at which I was stopping. We still held before our 
minds and hearts the thought which I had just empha- 
sized. During the conversation, in which several par- 
ticipated, the blessedness of God's leadership so grew 
upon me that I took out my pencil, wrote the hymn just 
as it stands to-day, handed it to my wife — and thought 
no more about it. She sent it without my knowledge 
to ' The Watchman and Reflector,' and there it first 
appeared in print. Three years later I went to Roches- 
ter to preach for the Second Baptist Church. On enter- 
ing the chapel I took up a hymn-book, thinking, ' I 
wonder what they sing.' The book opened at ' He 
leadeth me,' and that was the first time I knew my 
hymn had found a place among the songs of the 
church. I shall never forget the impression made upon 
me by coming then and there in contact with my own 
assertion of God's leadership." 

Mr. Bradbury, finding the hymn in a Christian 
periodical, composed for it the very appropriate tune 
with which it has ever since been associated. 

Here am I, Send Me 

Words by Daniel March Music by S. M. Grannis 

"Hark! the voice of Jesus crying, — 
' Who will go and work to-day? ' " 

I found this poem in a newspaper and set the 
words to a tune by S. M. Grannis entitled " Your Mis- 
sion " — a hymn which was sung in the Senate Cham- 
ber in Washington by Philip Phillips on one occasion 



Of the Gospel Hymns 99 

when Abraham Lincoln was present. The President 
was so charmed with the song that he requested that 
it be repeated. 

Hiding in Thee 

Words by William O. Gushing Music by Ira D. Sankey 

"O safe to the Rock that is higher than I, 
My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly." 

" ' Hiding in Thee ' was written in Moravia, New 
York, in 1876," writes Mr. dishing. " It must be said 
of this hymn that it was the outgrowth of many tears, 
many heart-conflicts and soul-yearnings, of which the 
world can know nothing. The history of many battles 
is behind it. But the occasion which gave it being 
was the call of Mr. Sankey. He said : ' Send me some- 
thing new to help me in my Gospel work.' A call from 
such a source, and for such a purpose, seemed a call 
from God. I so regarded it, and prayed : ' Lord, give 
me something that may glorify Thee.' It was while 
thus waiting that ' Hiding in Thee ' pressed to make 
itself known. Mr. Sankey called forth the tune, and 
by his genius gave the hymn wings, making it useful 
in the Master's work." 

Ho ! Reapers of Life's Harvest 

Words by I. B. Woodbury Music by I. B. Woodbury 

"Ho! reapeis of life's harvest, 
Why stand with rusted blade?" 

President Garfield was fond of this hymn, and it 
was sung at his funeral. In addressing an audience of 



ioo Sankeys Story 

young people on one occasion, Garfield said, in sub- 
stance, regarding his own conversion : 

" Make the most of the present moment. No 
occasion is unworthy of our best efforts. God often 
uses humble occasions and little things to shape the 
course of a man's life. I might say that the wearing 
of a certain pair of stockings led to a complete change 
in my life. I had made a trip as a boy on a canal boat 
and was expecting to leave home for another trip ; but 
I accidentally injured my foot in chopping wood. The 
blue dye in my home-made socks poisoned the wound 
and I was kept at home. A revival broke out mean- 
while in the neighborhood, and I was thus kept within 
its influence and was converted. New desires and new 
purposes then took possession of me, and I was de- 
termined to seek an education in order that I might 
live more usefully for Christ." 

It is said that this hymn has been the means of 
the conversion of thousands of souls in Australia and 
Great Britain. 



Hold the Fort 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Bliss 

"Ho! my comrades, see the signal 
Waving in the sky!" 

Just before Sherman began his famous march to 
the sea in 1864, and while his army lay camped in the 
neighborhood of Atlanta on the 5th of October, the 
army of Hood, in a carefully prepared movement, 
passed the right flank of Sherman's army, gained his 
rear, and commenced the destruction of the railroad 



Of the Gospel Hymns 101 

leading north, burning blockhouses and capturing the 
small garrisons along the line. Sherman's army was 
put in rapid motion pursuing Hood, to save the sup- 
plies and larger posts, the principal one of which was 
located at Altoona Pass. General Corse, of Illinois, 
was stationed here with about fifteen hundred men, 
Colonel Tourtelotte being second in command. A 
million and a half of rations were stored here and it 
was highly important that the earthworks commanding 
the pass and protecting the supplies should be held. 
Six thousand men under command of General French 
were detailed by Hood to take the position. The 
works were completely surrounded and summoned to 
surrender. Corse refused and a sharp fight com- 
menced. The defenders were slowly driven into a small 
fort on the crest of the hill. Many had fallen, and the 
result seemed to render a prolongation of the fight 
hopeless. At this moment an officer caught sight of 
a white signal flag far away across the valley, twenty 
miles distant, upon the top of Kenesaw Mountain. The 
signal was answered, and soon the message was waved 
across from mountain to mountain : 

" Hold the fort ; I am coming. W. T. Sherman." 
Cheers went up ; every man was nerved to a full 
appreciation of the position ; and under a murderous 
fire, which killed or wounded more than half the men 
in the fort — Corse himself being shot three times 
through the head, and Tourtelotte taking command, 
though himself badly wounded — they held the fort for 
three hours until the advance guard of Sherman's army 
came up. French was obliged to retreat. 

This historical incident was related by Major 



102 Sankeys Story 

Whittle at a Sunday-school meeting in Rockford, Illi- 
nois, in May, 1870. Mr. Bliss was present, and the 
song " Hold the Fort " was at once born in his mind. 
The next day Whittle and Bliss held a meeting in the 
Young Men's Christian Association rooms in Chicago. 
Bliss went on the platform and wrote the chorus of 
this hymn on the blackboard. He there sang the verses 
for the first time in public, and the audience joined in 
the chorus. Soon after he had it published in sheet 
form. 

Mr. Bliss said to me once, not long before his 
death, that he hoped that he would not be known to 
posterity only as the author of " Hold the Fort," for he 
believed that he had written many better songs. How- 
ever, when I attended the dedication of the Bliss monu- 
ment, at Rome, Pennsylvania, I found these words 
inscribed : 

P. P. Bliss, 
Author of "Hold the Fort." 

The pine tree from which Sherman's signal was 
flown was cut down a few years after the war, and 
was made into souvenirs, I receiving a baton with 
which to lead my choirs. 

" Hold the Fort " was used frequently in our 
meetings in Great Britain during 1873-4. Lord 
Shaftesbury said at our farewell meeting in London : 
" If Mr. Sankey has done no more than teach the peo- 
ple to sing ' Hold the Fort,' he has conferred an inesti- 
mable blessing on the British empire." 

On a trip to Switzerland, in 1879, I stopped over 



Of the Gospel Hymns 103 

Sunday in London with the family of William Higgs, 
and attended morning services at the Metropolitan 
Tabernacle. While seated in a pew with Mrs. Higgs 
and three of her daughters, I was discovered by Mr. 
Spurgeon. At the conclusion of his address he sent 
one of his deacons down to the pew, inviting me to his 
private room at the rear of the pulpit. There I was 
warmly greeted by the great preacher. In the course . 
of our conversation he said : " A few days ago I re- 
ceived a copy of a bill pending in Parliament in relation 
to the army, with a letter from a Christian gentleman, 
a member of the parliament, asking if I couldn't preach 
a sermon on this bill. I have decided to preach that 
sermon to-night, and I want you to come and sing, 
' Hold the Fort.' I replied that he was not a man to 
be denied ; and although I had not expected to sing in 
public in London on this trip, I would gladly comply 
with his wish if I could have a small organ to accom- 
pany myself upon. This I supposed that he would not 
have, as he did not approve of organs at public worship 
and never used one in his church ; but he replied that 
when I arrived at the meeting there would be an instru- 
ment on the platform for me. In the evening, at the 
close of his address he announced that I was present 
and would sing " Hold the Fort ;" and he asked them 
all to join heartily in the chorus. An organ had been 
secured from the Students' College. When the chorus 
was sung it was heard blocks away. At the conclusion 
of the service Mr. Spurgeon exclaimed : " There now, 
I think our roof will stay on after that ! " 

On reaching Switzerland I sang in many cities. 
Sailing across Lake Lucerne, and ascending the Rigi, 



104 Sankey's Story 

there I again sang " Hold the Fort," much to the in- 
terest of the Swiss peasants. 

An indication of the impression this and other 
American songs made upon the people may be seen in 
the case of the two actors who came on the stage in 
one of the largest theaters in England and attempted 
to caricature Mr. Moody and myself. The galleries 
struck up " Hold the Fort," and kept on singing the 
piece until the actors had to withdraw from the stage. 
On their reappearing, with the purpose of continuing 
the performance, the song was again started, and con- 
tinued until that part of the entertainment was given 
up. I have been informed that the cabling of this inci- 
dent to this country at the time it took place turned 
the attention of our countrymen more thoroughly to 
our work across the sea than all the reports previously 
sent in relation to the movement over there. 



Shortly after the evangelistic work of Henry Var- 
ley in Yorkville and Toronto, about 1875, when the 
songs in the first edition of " Gospel Hymns " were 
heard all over the land, a carpenter and his apprentice 
were working on a building in Yorkville. The man 
was a Christian and had consecrated his fine tenor voice 
to the Master's use. The boy had just given himself 
to Jesus and was also a singer for the Lord. One 
morning, as they met at the usual hour for work, the 
following dialogue took place between them : 

" Do you know who is coming here to work to- 
day?" 

" No, I did not hear of anybody coming here." 



Of the Gospel Hymns 105 

" Well, there is ; and it is Tommy Dodd." 
"And who might Tommy Dodd be?" 
" He is a painter, and the greatest drunkard and 
wife-beater in Yorkville." 

" Well, Joe, we must give him a warm reception." 
" Yes, we will sing like everything, so that he 
can't get a bad word in." 

So, when Tommy Dodd came, they struck up 
" Hold the Fort." And they kept on singing till he left 
his work and came closer to listen. He asked them 
to sing it over and over again, joining heartily in it 
himself, for Tommy was very fond of singing. This 
was followed by an invitation to the young men's 
prayer-meeting, where the Spirit led him to surrender 
to Christ. Afterward he was found at the church 
instead of the saloon, singing the sweet songs of Zion. 
Dr. R. A. Torrey, on his return from England 
recently, called on me and told me that while he and 
Mr. Alexander were holding meetings in Belfast, 
one of the most enthusiastic helpers was a typical 
Irishman, well-known as an active worker all over the 
city. " He was constantly bringing drunkards to the 
front and dealing with them," said Dr. Torrey, " and 
holding meetings in the open air all over the city. The 
story of his conversion was exceedingly interesting. 
At that time he was a prisoner in a cell in Belfast. The 
window of his cell was open. Mr. Sankey was singing 
' Hold the Fort ' in another building. The words 
floated across through the open window into his cell 
and went home to his heart. There in his cell he ac- 
cepted Christ under the influence of this hymn. I 
think he never saw Mr. Sankey in his life." 



106 Sankeys Story 

Home of the Soul 

Words by Mrs. Ellen H. Gates Music by Philip Phillips 

" I will sing you a song of that beautiful land, 
The far away home of the soul." 

" Now I saw in my dream that these two men 
[Christian and Hopeful] went in at the gate; and lo, 
as they entered, they were transfigured ; and they had 
raiment put on them that shone like gold. There were 
also those that met them with harps and crowns and 
gave them to them ; the harps to praise withal, and 
the crowns in token of honor. Then I heard in my 
dream that all the bells in the city rang again for joy, 
and that it was said unto them : ' Enter ye into the joy 
of your Lord! ' . . . Now, just as the gates were 
opened to let in the men, I looked in after them, and 
behold, the city shone like the sun ; the streets also 
were paved with gold ; and in them walked many men, 
with crowns on their heads and palms in their hands, 
and golden harps to sing praises withal. . . . After 
that, they shut up the gates which, when I had seen, I 
wished myself among them." — Bunyan's " Pilgrim's 
Progress." 

" The above extract," wrote Philip Phillips, " I 
sent to Mrs. Ellen H. Gates, asking her to write a 
suitable hymn. When the verses were forwarded to 
me, in 1865, I seated myself in my home with my little 
boy on my knee, and with Bunyan's immortal dream- 
book in my hand, and began to read the closing scenes 
where Christian and Hopeful entered into the city, — 
wondering at Bunyan's rare genius, and like the 
dreamer of old wishing myself among them. At this 



Of the Gospel Hymns 107 

moment of inspiration I turned to my organ, with pencil 
in hand, and wrote the tune. This hymn seems to 
have had God's special blessing upon it from the very 
beginning. One man writes me that he has led in the 
singing of it at a hundred and twenty funerals. It 
was sung at the funeral of my own dear boy, who had 
sat on my knee when I wrote the tune." 

And I sang this hymn over the remains of my 
beloved friend, Philip Phillips, at Fredonia, New York. 

How Firm a Foundation 

Words by G. Keith Music by M. Portogallo 

"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, 
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word." 

" Once at evening devotion in the old Oratory 
of Princeton Seminary," Dr. C. S. Robinson relates, 
" the elder Hodge, then venerable with years and piety, 
paused as he read this hymn, preparatory to the sing- 
ing. In the depth of his emotion he was obliged to 
close his delivery of the final lines with a gesture of 
pathetic and adoring wonder at the matchless grace 
of God in Christ, and his hand silently beat time to the 
rhythm instead : ' I'll never, no, never, no, never for- 
sake ! " 



Giving an account of a visit to General Jackson 
at the Hermitage, in 1843, the Rev. James Gallager 
says in the " Western Sketch Book :" " The old hero 
was then very frail and had the appearance of extreme 
old age ; but he was reposing with calmness and confi- 
dence on the promise and covenant of God. He had 



108 Setnkey's Story 

now been a member of the church for several years." 
During the conversation which took place, the General 
turned to Mr. Gallager, and remarked : 

" There is a beautiful hymn on the subject of the 
exceeding great and precious promise of God to His 
people. It was the favorite hymn of my dear wife, till 
the day of her death. It commences in this way : ' How 
firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord.' I wish you 
would sing it now." 

So the little company sang the entire hymn. 

I am Praying for You 

Words by S. O'Maley Cluff Music by Ira D. Sankey 

"I have a Saviour, He's pleading in glory; 
A dear, loving Saviour, tho' earth friends be few." 

On our first visit to Ireland, in 1874, we came 
across these words in a printed leaflet. It was the sec- 
ond hymn to which I wrote music, and it was much 
used in our meetings in London. It has long been a 
favorite prayer-meeting hymn in many churches. 



At the close of a gospel service in Evanston, Illi- 
nois, the minister was requested to visit a man who 
was not likely to live many days, and who was a spir- 
itualist. Though pressed by other engagements, the 
minister said, " I will take time." He called, but 
thought it not best to introduce the subject of religion 
because of the patient's known hostility to evangelical 
views. Seeing a little organ in the room, the minister 
asked if he might sing a song. Consent being given, 
he sang " I have a Saviour, He's pleading in glory." 



Of the Gospel Hymns 109 

The sick man seemed pleased, and asked the min- 
ister to sing it again. This he did, and then gave other 
songs. Thus he sang the truths which he had 
not the courage to mention in conversation. The 
songs evidently accomplished their work • for when the 
minister called again the sick man's heart had been 
opened, and the truth had been savingly received 
through their instrumentality. 
<^> 

A gospel worker of Hunter, New York, tells of 
this experience in connection with the hymn : " While 
1 was holding revival meetings at Hensonville, New 
York, a man and his wife were converted through the 
hymn ' I Am Praying for You.' The song went directly 
to the heart of the wife. All the way to her home the 
first line of the hymn, ' I have a Saviour, He's plead- 
ing in glory,' kept ringing in her ears, and next morn- 
ing as she awoke she heard my voice singing, ' I have 
a Saviour.' That night she came to Jesus. Her hus- 
band followed immediately after her. They had sent 
out invitations for a large dancing party at that time, 
which no doubt would have injured the meetings very 
much had it taken place ; but the dance was turned into 
a prayer-meeting. I shall never forget the night she 
stood up in a crowded church, and said, ' Oh, Brother 
L , your singing " I have a Saviour " brought us to 

Jesus.' " 

>+> 

A young man who came from Sweden writes : " ' I 
Am Praying for You ' was the first Moody and Sankey 
hymn I ever heard. It was on a cold winter night up 
in the land of the midnight sun, more than a quarter 



iio Sankeys Story 

of a century ago. Two evangelists had come to the 
neighborhood, but found it difficult to get a place in 
which to hold their meetings. At last a poor woman 
opened for them her log house, consisting of two 
rooms. From house to house the meetings were an- 
nounced. I was a small boy, and out of curiosity I 
attended the first meeting. About twenty people were 
present, seated on chairs borrowed from the neigh- 
bors. At one end of the low, dark room the evangel- 
ists were seated, by a small table on which two 
home-made candles were burning. After one of the 
evangelists had led in prayer, he said to the other, 
' Sing one of Sankey's hymns.' Upon which he sang 
this now well-known hymn, ' I Am Praying for You/ 
accompanying himself on a guitar. Since then I have 
heard these sweet hymns sung in many European 
countries, and in the small meeting-houses and primi- 
tive homes of the settlers on the Western plains, as 
well as by choirs of hundreds and congregations of 
thousands in the larger cities of this broad land." 

I Gave My Life for Thee 

Words by Frances R. Havergal Music by P. P. Bliss 

"I gave My life for thee, 
My precious blood I shed." 

Fifteen years after this hymn was written Miss 
Havergal said about it : " Yes, ' I gave My life for 
thee/ is mine, and perhaps it will interest you to hear 
how nearly it went into the fire instead of nearly all 
over the world. It was, I think, the very first thing 
I wrote which could be called a hymn — written when 
I was a young girl, in 1859. I did not half realize 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 1 1 

what I was writing about. I was following very far 
off, always doubting and fearing. I think I had come 
to Jesus with a trembling faith, but it was a coming ' in 
the press ' and behind, never seeing his face or feeling 
sure that he loved me. I scribbled these words in 
a few minutes on the back of a circular, and then read 
rhem over and thought, ' Well, this is not poetry, any- 
how ; I won't trouble to write this out.' I reached 
out my hand to put it in the fire, when a sudden im- 
pulse made me draw it back, and I put it, crumpled 
and singed, in my pocket. Soon after I went to see 
a dear old woman in the almshouse. She began talk- 
ing to me, as she always did, about her dear Saviour, 
and I thought I would see if she, a simple old woman, 
would care for these verses, which I felt sure nobody 
else would even care to read. I read them to her, and 
she was so delighted with them that I copied them out 
and kept them. And now the Master has sent them 
out in all directions, and I have heard of their being a 
real blessing to many." 

Miss Havergal showed the hymn some time after- 
ward to her father, and he wrote a melody especially 
for it. But it is the tune which Mr. Bliss composed 
for it that became popular in America. 

I Hear Thy Welcome Voice 

Words by Lewis Hartsough Music by Lewis Hartsough 

"I hear Thy welcome voice 
That calls me, Lord, to Thee." 

The words and music of this beautiful hymn were 
first published in a monthly entitled " Guide to Holi- 
ness," a copy of which was sent to me in England in 



112 Sankey's Story 

1873. I immediately adopted it and had it published 
in " Sacred Songs and Solos." It proved to be one 
of the most helpful of the revival hymns, and was often 
used as an invitation hymn in England and America. 

Shortly after this hymn was written, while it was 
being sung by a large congregation in Washington, a 
passing merchant stopped to listen. It had been 
twenty years since he had crossed the threshold of a 
church. The congregation were on their feet and 
sinners were passing to the altar for prayer. Stanza 
after stanza of this hymn was sung, with increasing 
interest. The Holy Spirit so pressed the Lord's claims 
that the merchant yielded and joined the penitents. 
He was converted and this hymn became his favorite. 
He sang it in his home, on the street, and in his store. 
It seemed a special inspiration to him. One morning, 
about two weeks after his conversion, as he started 
for his store, his wife, having accompanied him to the 
door to say good-bye, heard him joyfully begin to 
sing " I am coming, Lord, to Thee," as he reached the 
street. She listened a little while, looking after him, 
and then turned to her room. A few moments later 
the door-bell rang. She answered it in person, only 
to find that men were bearing home her husband's dead 
body. He had slipped on the icy pavement and was 
instantly killed. The memory of those last words of 
song that fell upon her ears, as he triumphantly sang 
" I am coming, Lord, to Thee," was to her a lasting 

comfort. 

/^ 

" While holding meetings at Eastbourn," says an 
English evangelist, " a man by the name of David was 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 1 3 

converted. His very wicked work-mate, whose name 
was Stephen, noticed the change in him the next day, 
and asked David what had caused it. David boldly 
confessed that he had found the Saviour at the Mis- 
sion, and expressed a wish that Stephen would accom- 
pany him there next Sunday — to which he finally 
agreed. As we began the service on Sunday evening, 
I gave out the hymn, ' I hear Thy welcome Voice.' 
During the singing I noticed that the Spirit had 
touched a man who was sitting on the first form under 
the platform. After a short comment on the verses, I 
said : ' We will have the prayer-meeting at once,' and 
in another minute I was down by the side of Stephen — 
for it was he — and with my arm around his neck I 
said to him : ' The Lord is speaking to you, is he not? ' 
" After the meeting Stephen testified that he had 
been able to knock down two men in a fight, but that 
he never was so knocked down in all his life as when 
he felt my arm around his neck. Stephen became a 
brave and true follower of Christ. He brought his 
wife to church, and though at first she had ridiculed 
her husband, she, too, soon gave heed to the ' welcome 



I'll Go Where Thou Would'st I Should Go 

Words by Mary Brown Music by Carrie E. Rounsefell 

" It may not be on the mountain's height, 
Or over the stormy sea." 

This well-known missionary and consecration 
hymn was adopted by a class of over a hundred mis- 
sionary nurses at the Battle Creek (Michigan) Sani- 
tarium as their class hymn. Every Sabbath afternoon 



1 1 4 Sankey s Story 

they would gather for a social meeting and always 
sing, " I'll go where Thou would'st I should go, dear 
Lord," which they called " their hymn." In this class 
were students from nearly every State of the Union, 
from Australia, South Africa, South America, Bul- 
garia, Armenia, and nearly all the European countries. 
At the close of the course they agreed that after they 
had parted and gone to their different fields, they 
would sing this hymn every Sabbath afternoon as they 
had done during their happy class-days. 

I Love to Tell the Story 

Words by Miss Kate Hankey Music by \V. G. Fischer 

"I love to tell the story 
Of unseen things above." 

" Last winter a young man appeared here from 
British Columbia," says a letter from Surrey, England. 
" He was in the Royal Marines. He was a total ab- 
stainer and was doing all he could to promote temper- 
ance among his comrades. While here he went to 
church, and the curate, who had a conversation with 
him, was much pleased with his manly behavior and 
resolute desire to do right. He wore a medal and had 
good-conduct marks on his clothes. This man was the 
little boy whom Miss T. had picked up in Battersea 
Park many years before, and who had learned of the 
gospel of salvation entirely by listening to the maid- 
servants singing sacred songs while scrubbing door- 
steps and cleaning windows. The hymn that, as a 
child, he seemed to make entirely his own was, ' I love 
to tell the story,' though he knew several others when 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 1 5 

he was picked up in the park. As he had never been 
to church or chapel, the hymns were the only channel 
through which divine truth had been conveyed to him, 
and by which the first seed was sown in his heart that 
made him a man of character and usefulness." 



I Need Thee Every Hour 

Words by Annie S. Hawks Music by Robert Lowry 

"I need Thee every hour, 
Most gracious Lord." 

A chaplain of the State prison at Concord, Massa- 
chusetts, tells how an ex-prisoner, who had never had 
a home in his life, prepared one, humble but tasteful, 
and then asked the chaplain to help him dedicate it. 
Together they entered the home — the man's wife had 
not yet come — and the service began. " Mr. B., with 
evident brokenness of spirit, for he was naturally a 
proud man and not unacquainted with larger surround- 
ings, could not refrain from some criticism upon his 
poor things ; but his heart was so full that his embar- 
rassment was only temporary, and he immediately went 
on with a firm purpose. He started the hymn, ' I need 
Thee every hour ' for the first number of the service." 

" I need Thee every hour " was first sung at a 
Sunday-school convention in Cincinnati, in November 
of 1872. Two years later I sang it for the first time 
at Mr. Moody's meetings in the East End of London. 
After that we often used it in our prayer-meetings. 

The singing of this hymn at a meeting in Chicago, 
at the time of the World's Fair, led to the writing of 



1 1 6 Sankeys Story 

the now famous song, " Moment by Moment," by 
D. W. Whittle. 



In the Secret of His Presence 

Words by Ellen Lakshmi Goreh Music by George C. Stebbins 

"In the secret of His presence how my soul delights to hide! 
Oh, how precious are the lessons which I learn at Jesus' 
side!" 

The author of the words of this beautiful hymn 
was a high-caste native of India. After her conver- 
sion to Christianity, it is said, she spent some years in 
the home of an English clergyman, and wrote the poem 
" In the Secret of His Presence " while there. It made 
its appearance in a book of poems of which she was 
the author. In 1883 the attention of Mr. Stebbins was 
called to it, and he wrote the music at that time. The 
hymn was first sung by him as an offertory in one of 
the churches in Brooklyn, New York. It was often 
repeated as an offertory, and on occasions was sung in 
evangelistic services. But it had its larger introduc- 
tion to the public during the All- Winter Mission con- 
ducted by Mr. Moody and myself in London in the 
winter of 1883-84, when I sang it frequently, as did 
Mr. Stebbins, who spent several months assisting in the 
mission. It was also often sung by Miss Beaucham, 
daughter of the late Lady Beaucham and since the wife 
of Colonel Drury-Lowe, one of the heroes of the Indian 
Mutiny, and uncle of Lord Curzon, Viceroy and Gov- 
ernor-General of India. The hymn at once came into 
general favor, and the deeply spiritual tone of the 
words brought blessing to many. The song was after- 
wards published in " Gospel Hymns," and in " Sacred 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 1 7 

Songs and Solos." Very soon it found its way into 
all parts of the world. Dr. Hudson Taylor, head of 
the great China Inland Mission, stated at Northfield 
that it was the favorite hymn of his missionaries. 

The winter of 1890-91 Mr. and Mrs. Stebbins 
spent in India. While visiting the city of Allahabad, 
the home of Miss Goreh, Mr. Stebbins sought her out 
and made her acquaintance. He found her engaged in 
mission work among the women of India, a modest, 
devoted Christian, held in high esteem by missionaries 
of all denominations and by all who knew her. Thus 
the two singers whose names had become associated 
in Christian song met each other, — one from the far 
East, and one from beyond far Western seas — both 
inspired by the same Lord, in the secret of whose pres- 
ence they long since came to abide. 



It Is Finished 

Words by the Rev. James Proctor Music by Ira D. Sankey 

"Nothing, either great or small — 
Nothing, sinner, no." 

The Scotch people are especially fond of this 
hymn. The author prefaced it with these lines : " Since 
I first discovered Jesus to be the end of the law for 
righteousness to every one that believeth, I have more 
than once met with a poor sinner seeking peace at the 
foot of Sinai instead of Calvary, and I have heard him 
again and again in bitter disappointment and fear 
groaning out, 'What must I do?' I have said to 
him, ' Do, do ? What can you do ? What do you need 
to do?'" 



1 1 8 Sankeys Story 

It is Well with My Soul 

Words by H. G. Spafford Music by P. P. Bliss 

"When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, 
When sorrows like sea-billows roll." 

When Mr. Moody and I were holding meetings in 
Edinburgh, in 1874, we heard the sad news of the loss 
of the French steamer, " Ville de Havre," on her return 
from America to France, with a large number of mem- 
bers of the Ecumenical Council, whose meetings had 
been held in Philadelphia. On board the steamer was 
a Mrs. Spafford, with her four children. In mid-ocean 
a collision took place with a large sailing vessel, caus- 
ing the steamer to sink in half an hour. Nearly all 
on board were lost. Mrs. Spafford got her children 
out of their berths and up on deck. On being told 
that the vessel would soon sink, she knelt down with 
her children in prayer, asking God that they might be 
saved if possible ; or be made willing to die, if that was 
his will. In a few minutes the vessel sank to the bot- 
tom of the sea, and the children were lost. One of 
the sailors of the vessel, named Lockurn — whom I 
afterward met in Scotland — while rowing over the spot 
where the vessel disappeared, discovered Mrs. Spaf- 
ford floating in the water. Ten days later she was 
landed at Cardiff, Wales. From there she cabled to 
her husband, a lawyer in Chicago, the message, " Saved 
alone." Mr. Spafford, who was a Christian, had the 
message framed and hung up in his office. He started 
immediately for England to bring his wife to Chicago. 
Mr. Moody left his meetings in Edinburgh and went 
to Liverpool to try to comfort the bereaved parents, 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 1 9 

and was greatly pleased to find that they were able to 
say : " It is well ; the will of God be done." 

In 1876, when we returned to Chicago to work, 
I was entertained at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Spaf- 
ford for a number of weeks. During that time Mr. 
Spafford wrote the hymn, " It is well with my soul," 
in commemoration of the death of his children. P. P. 
Bliss composed the music and sang it for the first time 
at a meeting in Farwell Hall. The comforting fact in 
connection with this incident was that in one of our 
small meetings in North Chicago, a short time prior 
to their sailing for Europe, the children had been 
converted. 

While still living in Chicago Mr. and Mrs. Spaf- 
ford became much interested in the Second Coming 
of Christ. So zealous did Mr. Spafford become that 
he decided to go to Jerusalem with his wife and the 
one remaining daughter, and there await the coming 
of the Lord. Mr. Spafford died there not long after- 
ward. Mrs. Spafford is the head of a society whose 
headquarters are in a building outside of Jerusalem, 
where a large number of people live, having all things 
in common. When I visited Jerusalem some years 
ago I met Mrs. Spafford on the Street of David. The 
next day I received a call from Miss Spafford, who is 
very popular among the natives and has become the 
teacher for a large body of children, instructing them 
in English literature and in American ways. 

This hymn was heard by a gentleman who had 
suffered great financial reverses in the panic of 1899, 
and who was in deepest despondency. When he learned 
the story of the hymn he exclaimed : " If Spafford 



1 20 Sankey s Story 

could write such a beautiful resignation hymn I will 
never complain again." 

I've Found a Friend 

Words by J. G. Small Music by George C. Stebbins 

"I've found a Friend, oh. such a Friend! 
He loved me ere I knew Him." 

On one occasion when Mr. Moorehouse and I 
were holding meetings at Scarboro, in the north of 
England, the services were attended by a number of 
Quaker ladies, among them a cousin of John Bright, 
the great English statesman. Wishing to have this 
hymn sung at one of the meetings, this lady wrote out 
the following request : " Will Mr. Sankey please repeat 
the hymn, 'I've found a Friend,' in his usual way?" 
In thus wording her note she avoided asking me to 
sing, which is against the custom of the Society of 

Friends. 

<^> 

" We were holding a cottage prayer-meeting in a 
lodging house," says a minister of Nottinghamshire, 
England, " when a young man lodging there came in to 
the meeting in a fun-seeking manner. We sang, 
prayed and read a chapter out of God's Word, and 
then the young man asked if we would sing a hymn 
for him. He chose ' I've found a Friend, oh, such a 
Friend.' When we had sung one verse he began to 
shed tears, and I am glad to say that he gave his heart 
to God through the singing of that beautiful hymn. 
The next morning he left the place, but before leaving 
he wrote me a letter, of which I give these extracts : ' I 
asked you to sing that hymn because it was a favorite 
of my darling sister, who is waiting for me at the gates 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 2 1 

in heaven. I have now promised to meet her there. 
By God's help, if we do not meet again on earth, I 
promise to meet you in heaven. You will always think 
of me when you sing, ' I've found a Friend.' Show 
this letter to my two other friends." 

The author of this hymn, the Rev. J. G. Small, 
who was born in Edinburgh in 1817, and died in 1888, 
wrote many hymns and poems and published several 
hymn-books. 

Jesus, I Will Trust Thee 

Words by Mary J. Walker Music by Ira D. Sankey 

"Jesus, I will trust Thee, 
Trust Thee with my soul." 

Major Whittle gives an example of this hymn's 
usefulness, out of many instances : " I was holding 
meetings in Belfast. At one of the after-meetings I 
noticed a man remaining behind when almost all the 
others had gone. I spoke to him and found that he 
was a merchant in the city. He was in much distress 
about his sins. I showed him Christ the Saviour, who 
died for sinners, and tried to get him to appropriate 
that Saviour to himself. I saw there was a great 
struggle going on in his soul, the powers for good and 
evil evidently striving for the mastery. We went down 
on our knees and prayed. Then after a while he 
straightened himself up and gave vent to his feelings 
in this hymn, for he was a capital singer: 

'Jesus, I will trust Thee, 

Trust Thee with my soul; 
Guilty, lost, and helpless, 

Thou canst make me whole.' 



122 Sankeys Story 

It was a song of victory over Satan, and a song of 
praise to Christ, through whom he had conquered. 
From that hour he has done splendid work for Christ 
among the worst of men." 



Jesus, Lover of My Soul 

Words by Charles Wesley Music by Simeon B. Marsh 

"Jesus, Lover of my soul, 
Let me to Thy bosom fly." 

Several incidents have been narrated as having 
suggested to Charles Wesley this hymn. One, that 
a narrow escape from death in a storm on the Atlantic 
inspired him to portray the thoughts of a Christian 
in deadly peril. Another, that as he stood at an open 
window on a summer day a little bird, pursued by a 
hawk, sought refuge in his bosom, giving him the idea 
of pointing out the soul's one sure place of refuge in 
time of need. 

Mrs. Mary Hoover, of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, 
whose grandmother was the heroine of the story, has 
related to her pastor this family tradition : Charles 
Wesley was preaching in the fields of the parish of 
Killyleagh, County Down, Ireland, when he was at- 
tacked by men who did not approve of his doctrines. 
He sought refuge in a house located on what was 
known as the Island Band Farm. The farmer's wife, 
Jane Lowrie Moore, told him to hide in the milkhouse, 
down in the garden. Soon the mob came and de- 
manded the fugitive. She tried to quiet them by offer- 
ing them refreshments. Going down to the milk- 



Of the Gospel Hymns 123 

house, she directed Mr. Wesley to get through the rear 
window and hide under the hedge, by which ran a little 
brook. In that hiding-place, with the cries of his pur- 
suers all about him, he wrote this immortal hymn. 
Descendants of Mrs. Moore still live in the house, 
which is much the same as it was in Wesley's time. 



The great evangelist and president of Oberlin Col- 
lege, Charles G. Finney, was walking about his 
grounds shortly before his death. In the church where 
he had preached for forty years the evening service was 
going on. Presently he heard this hymn floating to 
him from the distance. He joined with the invisible 
congregation in singing the hymn to the end. Before 
the next morning he had joined the choir about the 
throne. 



" An ungodly stranger," said Mr. Spurgeon, 
" stepping into one of our services at Exeter Hall, was 
brought to Christ by the singing of ' Jesus, Lover of 
my soul.' ' Does Jesus love me? ' said he ; ' then why 
should I live in enmity with him? ' " 



Tom was a drummer boy in the army, and the 
men called him " the young deacon " because of his 
sobriety and religious example. One day the chap- 
lain found him sitting under a tree alone, with tears 
in his eyes. 

" Well, Tom, my boy, what is it? " 



124 Sankey s Story 

" I had a dream last night, which I can't get out 
of my mind." 

" What was it ? " 

" My mother was a widow, poor but good. She 
never was like herself after my sister Mary died. A 
year ago she died, too ; and I, having no home and no 
mother, came to the war. But last night I dreamed 
the war was over and I went back home, and just be- 
fore I got to the house my sister and mother came out 
to meet me. I didn't seem to remember that they 
were dead. How glad they were! O, sir, it was just 
as real as you are real now." 

" Thank God, Tom," said the chaplain, " that you 
have such a mother, not really dead, but in heaven." 

The boy wiped his eyes and was comforted. The 
next day Tom's drum was heard all day long in a ter- 
rible battle. At night it was known that " the young 
deacon " was lying wounded on the field. In the 
evening, when all was still, they heard a voice singing 
away off on the field, and they felt sure that it was 
Tom's voice. Softly the words of " Jesus, Lover of my 
soul " floated on the wings of the night. After the sec- 
ond verse the voice grew weak and stopped. In the 
morning the soldiers found Tom sitting on the ground, 
leaning against a stump, dead. 

A vessel had gone on the rocks in the English 
Channel. The crew, with their captain, took to the 
boats and were lost. They might have been safe, had 
they remained on the vessel, as a huge wave carried 
her high up on the rocks. On the table in the captain's 
cabin was found a hymn-book, opened at this hymn, 



Of the Gospel Hymns 125 

and in it lay the pencil which had marked the favorite 
words of the captain. While the hurricane was howl- 
ing outside and the vessel sinking, he had drawn his 
pencil beneath these words of cheer: 

"Jesus, Lover of my soul, 
Let me to Thy bosom fly. 
While the nearer waters roll, 
While the tempest still is high." 
•^/ 
" I would rather have written that hymn of Wes- 
ley's, ' Jesus, Lover of my soul,' " Henry Ward Beecher 
once said, " than to have the fame of all the kings that 
ever sat on earth. It is more glorious ; it has more 
power in it. I would rather be the author of that 
hymn than to hold the wealth of the richest man in 
New York. It will go on singing until the trump 
brings forth the angel band ; and then I think it will 
mount up on some lip to the very presence of God." 
/^ 

Dr. George Duffield — himself the author of so 
fine a hymn as " Stand up, stand up for Jesus " — in his 
old age paid this tribute out of a lifelong experience : 
' One of the most blessed days of my life was when I 
found, after my harp had long hung on the willows, 
that I could sing again ; that a new song was put in my 
mouth ; and when, ere ever I was aware, I was singing, 
' Jesus, Lover of my soul.' If there is anything in 
Christian experience of joy and sorrow, of affliction 
and prosperity, of life and death — that hymn is the 
hymn of the ages ! " 

This was the last hymn we sang as the body of 
Mr. Moody was being lowered into the grave. 



126 Sankeys Story 

Jesus Loves Even Me 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Bliss 

"I am so glad that our Father in heaven 
Tells of His love in the Book He has given." 

" I think it was in June, 1870, that ' Jesus Loves 
Even Me ' was written," writes Major Whittle. " Mr. 
and Mrs. Bliss were at that time members of my fam- 
ily in Chicago. One morning Mrs. Bliss came down 
to breakfast and said, as she entered the room : ' Last 
night Mr. Bliss had a tune given to him that I think 
is going to live and be one of the most useful that he 
has written. I have been singing it all the morning, 
and I cannot get it out of my mind.' She then sang 
the notes over to us. The idea of Bliss, in writing the 
hymn, was to bring out the truth that the peace and 
comfort of a Christian are not founded so much upon 
his love to Christ as upon Christ's love to him, and that 
to occupy the mind with Christ's love would produce 
love and consecration — as taught in Romans 5:5/ The 
love of God [to us] is shed abroad in our hearts by 
the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us.' How much 
God has used this little song to lead sinners and doubt- 
ing Christians to look away to Jesus, eternity alone 
can tell." 

Mr. Bliss said that this song was suggested to 
him by hearing the chorus of the hymn, "Oh, how I 
love Jesus," repeated very frequently in a meeting 
which he attended. After joining in the chorus a 
number of times the thought came to him, " Have I 
not been singing enough about my poor love for Jesus, 
and shall I not rather sing of his great love for me?" 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 2 7 

Under the impulse of this thought he went home and 
composed this, one of his most popular children's 
hymns. 

" A young woman in England," says Major Whit- 
tle, " went to a meeting where she heard Mr. Sankey 
sing, ' I am so glad that Jesus loves me.' While the 
hymn was being sung she began to feel for the first 
time in her life that she was a sinner. All her sins 
came up in an array before her ; and so numerous and 
aggravated did they appear, that she imagined she 
could never be saved. She said in her heart, ' Jesus 
cannot love me. He could not love such a sinner as I.' 
She went home in a state of extreme mental anguish, 
and did not sleep that night. Every opportunity to 
obtain more light was eagerly seized. She took her 
place in the inquiry-room ; and there she found, to her 
astonishment and joy that Jesus could, did, does love 
sinners. She saw in God's open word that it was for 
sinners that he died, and for none others. When she 
realized this she began to sing ' I am so glad that Jesus 
loves me, — Jesus loves even me.' " 
■*> 

A minister was holding meetings in Indiana. A 
few miles distant lived an old Englishman who had 
not been inside a church for seven years. He was 
persuaded to take his children to the meeting one Sun- 
day night. He declared afterward that nothing of 
what was said or done interested him until the close 
of the service, when ' Jesus loves me ' was sung. On 
his way home, and until he went to sleep, he could 
think of nothing but the hymn. When he awoke in 



128 Sankeys Story 

the morning the first thing he thought of was, ' Jesus 
loves me.' He could not get it out of his mind, and 
when he was out in the field afterward he could think 
of nothing else. Was it possible that God could love 
a sinner like him? His eyes were so blinded with 
tears that he could not see to go on with his work. Out 
on that lonely field the old man found his Saviour. The 
next evening he visited the meeting, and as he told 
his experience tears were in the eyes of all the people. 

During the winter after the great fire in Chicago, 
when the place was being built up with small frame 
houses for the poor, a mother sent for me one day to 
visit her little sick girl, who was one of our Sunday- 
school scholars. I remembered her quite well, and 
was glad to go. Finding that she was beyond hope of 
recovery, I asked how it was with her. 

" It is all well with me," she replied ; " but I wish 
you would speak to father and mother." 

It was plain that she loved Jesus, and I asked her 
when she became a Christian. " Don't you remember 
last Thursday in the Tabernacle," she said, " when we 
had the children's meeting, and you sang ' Jesus loves 
me,' and don't you remember how you told us that if 
we would give our hearts to him he would love us? 
It was that dav that I gave mvself to Jesus. And now 
I am going to be with him, for the doctors say that I 
will die to-day." 

The testimony of that little girl, in that neglected 
quarter of the city, did more to encourage me to sing 
on than anything else, for she was my first convert. 

This song was much used in the meetings con- 



Of the Gospel Hymns 129 

ducted by Mr. Moody in Great Britain in 1873-4, and 
was given out to the congregation as an opening hymn 
more often than any other. As written by Mr. Bliss it 
consisted of three verses and a chorus. Some one un- 
known to the writer has written three additional verses 
beginning, ' Jesus loves me, and I know I love Him." 

Jesus Loves Me 

Words by Anna B. Warner Music by William B. Bradbury 

"Jesus loves me! this I know, 
For the Bible tells me so." 

The Rev. Dr. Jacob Chamberlain, who for many 
years has been working among the Hindus, writes as 
follows regarding this hymn, long one of the most 
popular children's songs in the world : " Many jears 
ago I translated into Telugu the children's hymn, 
' Jesus loves me ' and taught it to the children of our 
day-school. Scarcely a week later, as I was going 
through the narrow streets of the native town on horse- 
back, I heard singing that sounded natural, down a 
side street. I stopped to listen, cautiously drawing 
up to the corner, where unobserved I could look down 
the street and see and hear. And there was a little 
heathen boy, with heathen men and women standing 
around him, singing away at the top of his voice : 

'Jesus loves me! this I know, 

For the Bible tells me so . . . 
Yes, Jesus loves me! 
The Bible tells me so!' 

As he completed the verse some one asked the question : 
' Sonny, where did you learn that song?' 'Over at 



130 Sankey s Story 

the Missionary School,' was the answer. ' Who is 
that Jesus, and what is the Bible ? ' ' Oh ! the Bible 
is the book from God, they say, to teach us how to get 
to heaven, and Jesus is the name of the divine Re- 
deemer that came into the world to save us from our 
sins ; that is what the missionaries say.' ' Well, the 
song is a nice one. Come, sing us some more.' 
And so the little boy went on — a heathen himself, and 
singing to the heathen — about Jesus and his love. 
' That is preaching the Gospel by proxy,' I said to my- 
self, as I turned my pony and rode away, well satisfied 
to leave my little proxy to tell his interested audience 
all he himself knew, and sing to them over and over 
that sweet song of salvation." 

Jesus of Nazareth Passeth By 

Words by Emma Campbell Music by T. E. Perkins 

"What means this eager, anxious throng, 
Which moves with busy haste along?" 

An officer of the English army sends me the fol- 
lowing incident : " A soldier was stationed at Edin- 
burgh Castle, and one evening left his post on a pass 
until midnight. He had a week's pay in one pocket 
and the washing money earned by his wife in the other, 
and was on his way to the public house to have a night 
in gambling. His eye caught the poster outside the 
Tolbooth Church, announcing your meetings. The 
officer liked the singing, and went in just to hear one 
song. As he entered Mr. Moody was preaching on 
' The Blood.' That had no interest for him. After 
the address you sang, ' Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.' 
He listened with deep interest to the hymn. ' Too 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 3 1 

late, too late,' was God's arrow to his soul. An officer 
of his regiment and I went into the inquiry-room, and 
among a great crowd we saw this comrade's red coat. 
He was in great distress. We spoke to him, holding 
to John 3 : 16. 

" That night the man went home instead of to the 
public house, and his wife was astonished to see him 
so early, and sober. He laid down all the money on 
the table, which astonished her still more. Then he 
went to bed, but was in too great distress to be able to 
sleep. The words ' Too late, too late ' rang in his 
ears. About two o'clock in the morning John 3 : 16 
gleamed into his soul. He leaped from the bed, 
pleaded that grand promise, and Jesus received him. 
This was told the following morning by himself at the 
Castle. He held to his faith, and when the regiment 
left he was known throughout the camp as a man of 
God. The glorious Gospel with him began in song, 
and goes on in song." 

A similar experience is related by another con- 
vert : " It was on the 28th of December that I, like 
(I dare say) a great many others, went up to the As- 
sembly Hall, out of sheer curiosity, an unconverted 
sinner. I heard Mr. Moody preach, and I am sorry 
to say I was very little affected by it. After Mr. 
Moody had finished his discourse, Mr. Sankey sang 
' Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.' I was deeply moved 
by it, and when he came to the lines, 

'Too late! too late! will be the cry; 
Jesus of Nazareth has passed by;' 

oh ! I thought to myself, will that not be my cry ? Will 



132 Sankeys Story 

God not then say to me, ' Depart from me, I never 
knew you ? ' I felt in great anguish of soul, but I went 
home without remaining to the inquiry-meeting. All 
the way home those two lines still rang in my ears. 
It was a long time before I could go to sleep. My 
brain seemed all afire ; my past sins came up one by 
one before my mind. At last I fell asleep, but only 
to wake with a start under the impression that a bright 
light had suddenly been extinguished in my room, and 
had left me in utter darkness. Immediately those 
lines sounded in my ears. I was able to be the in- 
terpreter of my own dream. The bright light was 
Jesus, and the darkness was that of my own soul ; for 
he had passed by and I had not been saved. I had 
very little sleep that night. On the Monday night I 

came to the inquiry-meeting and Mr. spoke to me, 

showing me plainly that I had nothing to do — Christ 
had done it all. I was only to believe in him. And 
before I left the hall that evening, by the blessing of 
God I was able to accept Christ as my Saviour. Upon 
going home I opened a Bible, and the first words that 
met my eye were John 3 : 16: ' God so loved the world 
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal 
life.' I knew the whosoever included myself, and 
I rejoiced in it. I am doing so now; and, by the help 
of God, I hope to do so till I find myself in my 

Saviour's arms." 

/^ 

At one of our early meetings in Edinburgh an 
old gentleman, more than seventy years of age, threw 
himself down on his knees and, sobbing like a child, 



Of the Gospel Hymns 133 

said : " I was utterly careless about my soul until last 
night, but I have been so unhappy since I could not 
sleep. I seemed to hear ringing in my ears, ' Jesus 
of Nazareth passeth by,' and I feel that if I am not 
saved now, I never shall be." 
1^ 

A lady traveling in the East tells of a visit she 
made to the Girls' Orphanage in Nazareth, an institu- 
tion established many years ago in the town where 
Jesus spent so many years of his early life. The Or- 
phanage was established by a society of Christians in 
London. Here the lady heard the children sweetly 
singing : " Jesus of Nazareth passeth by," and she says 
that the children were sure the words were all meant 
for them. 

A young naval officer attended one of our meet- 
ings in London. On being asked how he liked the 
address he replied : " I did not hear it, but I did like 
that song, ' What means this eager, anxious throng ? ' 
He was invited to attend again, and he responded : 
" Well, I enjoyed that solo, and I will go to hear the 
singing." He did so; the same song was sung again, 
and so moved him that he remained for the inquiry- 
meeting. There he was saved through the mercy of 
God. A week later, in an accident, he was instantly 
killed, and so suddenly passed into the company of the 
redeemed. 

The hymn was written during a religious revival 
in Newark, New Jersey, in i863-'64, where hundreds 
were converted. One afternoon Mr. R. G. Pardee 



134 Sankeys Story 

made a very earnest address from Luke 18: 37 — "They 
told him that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by." Miss 
Emma Campbell was present, heard the address and 
saw how the community was stirred, and soon after- 
ward she wrote these stanzas. The Rev. E. P. Ham- 
mond, who had conducted the revival meetings, tried 
the verses to the tune of ' Sweet hour of prayer.' " 

Later Mr. T. E. Perkins wrote the tune to which 
this hymn is now sung. It was one of the first favor- 
ites at our meetings in England. The printed records 
of the meetings of these days bear testimony that hun- 
dreds confessed to have accepted Christ during the 
singing of this hymn as a solo. Rev. Andrew A. Bonar 
— brother of Dr. Horatius Bonar, the great hymn- 
writer — speaking of this hymn in his " Life of James 
Scott," says, " Some of us in listening to these two mes- 
sengers, the one singing, the other preaching, used to 
think of what is told in 2 Kings 3:15. Elisha, before 
beginning to prophesy, called for a minstrel, and when 
the camp of soldiers had been calmed and melted by 
harp and song, the hand of the Lord came upon the 
speaker. Had you been in Edinburgh during the four 
months when these brethren were there in 1873, you 
would have seen multitudes of all ages and stations 
hastening to the place of meeting, at whatever hour, 
any day of the week. The scene was exactly that de- 
scribed in the hymn, so often sung, and so much 
blessed, — 

'What means this eager, anxious throng, 
Which moves with busy haste along, 
These wondrous gatherings day by day? 
What means this strange commotion, pray?'" 



Of the Gospel Hymns 135 

Jesus, Saviour, Pilot Me ! 

Words by the Rev. Edward Hopper Music by J. E. Gould 

"Jesus, Saviour, pilot me, 
Over life's tempestuous sea." 

Major D. W. Whittle told me the following inci- 
dent in connection with this hymn : " I went with Gen- 
eral O. O. Howard to hold meetings for the soldiers 
at Tampa, Florida, and one day while going through 
the camp I found a young man dying of fever. I knelt 
by his side and asked him if he was a Christian. He 
replied that he was not, but said that his father and 
mother were Christians; and he asked me to pray for 
him. I did so, but no deep impression was made upon 
his heart. I went away with a sorrowing heart and 
promised to return another day. Two days later I 
visited him again and, praying with him, the Lord put 
into my mind to sing, ' Jesus, Saviour, pilot me.' The 
dying soldier said : ' Oh, that sounds good ; it puts me 
in mind of my beloved sister in Michigan, who used 
to sing this hymn for me before I entered the army.' 
He wanted me to repeat it over and over again for him, 
and finally he asked : ' Will Jesus be my pilot into the 
haven of rest ? ' I told the young man that Jesus would. 
' Then,' he said, ' I will trust him with all my heart.' 
The next day I called to see him again, but his com- 
rade said : ' He passed away during the night' " 
^ , 

The author of this hymn was born in New York 
in 1818, and for many years was the pastor of the 
Church of Sea and Land, in that city. The hymn was 
first published in 1871, in " The Sailors' Magazine." 



136 Sankefs Story 

Just as I Am 

Words by Charlotte Elliott Music by William B. Bradbury 

"Just as I am, without one plea, 
But that Thy blood was shed for me." 

Miss Charlotte Elliott was visiting some friends 
in the West End of London, and there met the eminent 
minister, Cesar Malan. While seated at supper, the 
minister said he hoped that she was a Christian. She 
took offense at this, and replied that she would rather 
not discuss that question. Dr. Malan said that he was 
sorry if he had offended her, that he always liked to 
speak a word for his Master, and that he hoped that 
the young lady would some day become a worker for 
Christ. When they met again at the home of a mutual 
friend, three weeks later, Miss Eliott told the minister 
that ever since he had spoken to her she had been try- 
ing to find her Saviour, and that she now wished him 
to tell her how to come to Christ. " Just come to 
him as you are," Dr. Malan said. This she did, and 
went away rejoicing. Shortly afterward she wrote 
this hymn, " Just as I am, without one plea." It was 
first published in " The Invalid's Hymn Book," in 1836. 

" In all my preaching," said her brother, the Rev. 
H. V. Elliott, " I have not done so much good as my 
sister has been permitted to accomplish by writing her 
one hymn, ' Just as I am.' " 



A little street waif in New York City came to a 
missionary with a torn and dirty piece of paper, on 
which this hymn was printed. 



Of the Gospel Hymns 137 

" Please, sir," he said, " father sent me to get a 
clean copy like that." 

The missionary learned that the child's sister had 
loved to sing it, and that this copy had been found in 
her pocket after her death. The father wanted to 
obtain a clean copy of the verses in order to frame them. 

During a service of song in a Christian church, ' 
John B. Gough was asked by a man in the pew with 
him what was to be sung, as the announcement had 
not been heard. The questioner was most repulsive 
in appearance, because of a nervous disease that dis- 
figured his face and form. When the singing began, 
Gough was driven almost to frenzy by the harsh and 
discordant tones of the singer by his side. But when 
they came to " Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind," the 
wretched creature lifted his sightless eyes to heaven 
and sang with his whole soul. The great orator, in 
his impassioned and inimitable way, said : 

" I have heard the finest strains of orchestra, choir, 
and soloist this world can produce, but I never heard 
music until I heard that blind man sing, ' O, Lamb of 
God, I come, I come.' " 

Lead, Kindly Light 

Words by John H. Newman Music by John B. Dykes 

"Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, 
Lead Thou me on." 

Dr. Newman wrote this hymn in 1833, just before 
he entered upon the tractarian movement in the Estab- 
lished Church. He had been at Rome, and stopping at 



138 Sankeys Story 

Sicily on his homeward way, he there became danger- 
ously ill of fever. Upon recovery, he took passage on 
an orange boat for Marseilles, being under the impres- 
sion that he must return to England and begin a move- 
ment for the reformation of the Church in accord with 
his peculiar views. The sailing vessel was becalmed 
for a week in the Straits of Bonifacio, between Corsica 
and Sardinia. It was on this vessel and under such 
circumstances, his body sweltering in the heat and his 
mind racked with conflicting views as to his duty in 
the contemplated mission to the Established Church, 
that he penned the lines of this now cherished hymn. 
Its original title was " The Pillar of the Cloud," the 
hymn appearing first in " The British Magazine." 

Let the Lower Lights be Burning 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Eliss 

" Brightly beams our Father's mercy 
From His lighthouse evermore." 

The words of this hymn were suggested to Mr. 
Bliss on hearing Mr. Moody tell the following incident : 
" On a dark, stormy night, when the waves rolled like 
mountains and not a star was to be seen, a boat, rock- 
ing and plunging, neared the Cleveland harbor. ' Are 
you sure this is Cleveland? ' asked the captain, seeing 
only one light from the lighthouse. ' Quite sure, sir,' 
replied the pilot. ' Where are the lower lights ? ' 
1 Gone out, sir.' ' Can you make the harbor ? ' ' We 
must, or perish, sir ! ' With a strong hand and a brave 
heart the old pilot turned the wheel. But alas, in the 
darkness he missed the channel, and with a crash upon 



Of the Gospel Hymns 139 

the rocks the boat was shivered, and many a life lost 
in a watery grave. Brethren, the Master will take 
care of the great lighthouse ; let us keep the lower 
lights burning! " 

Let the Saviour in 

Words by J. B. Atchinson Music by E. O. E.xcell 

"There's a Stranger at the door; 
Let Him in!" 

In Great Britain this favorite hymn brought bless- 
ing to a retired colonel of the English army, at one 
of Mr. Moody's meetings on the banks of the Thames. 
The colonel had become anxious about his spiritual 
condition, and decided to go to London to attend our 
meetings there. At the conclusion of one of the even- 
ing services, as he was about to leave the great build- 
ing, his attention was arrested by a sweet voice singing, 
" Let the Saviour in." On taking the train at Padding- 
ton station for Bournemouth, the song remained in his 
heart and the wheels of the train seemed to repeat in 
his ears the refrain, " Let him in ! let the Saviour in ! " 

He went again to London and sought out the 
singer whose voice had so impressed him. She was 
a lady of high rank, and in the course of a few months 
became the wife of the gallant colonel. A year later 
they moved to Florida, where I had the pleasure of vis- 
iting them in their home. On my invitation, they ac- 
companied me to a near-by town where I was holding 
meetings. At the conclusion of my lecture the lady 
sang this hymn again, and so sweetly that it moved the 
audience to tears. 



140 Sankeys Story 

Missionary Hymn 

Words by R. Heber Music by Dr. Lowell Mason 

"From Greenland's icy mountains, 
From India's coral strand." 

The author of this hymn was Dean of Hodnet and 
afterward Bishop of Calcutta. He was visiting his 
father-in-law, the Vicar of Wrexham, they being to- 
gether in the Vicar's study on the Saturday before 
Whitsunday, 1819. Each was preparing a missionary 
sermon to be delivered the following day, when the 
Vicar spoke up : 

" Heber, write something appropriate to sing at 
our services to-morrow." 

Immediately retiring to the other end of the room, 
Heber sat down by the window and composed the 
four stanzas which now constitute this hymn. He 
wanted to add a fifth, but the Vicar said : " Nay ; you 
will only destroy the beauty and symmetry of the com- 
position ; let it stand." 

The song was sung for the first time on that Whit- 
sunday. Bishop Heber laid down his life, seven years 
later, on the mission field of India. Of the many hymns 
which he wrote, nearly all are in common use, 

Moment by Moment 

Words by D. W. Whittle Music by May Whittle Moody 

"Dying with Jesus, by death reckoned mine; 
Living with Jesus a new life divine." 

While I was attending the World's Fair, in Chi- 
cago, Henry Varley, a lay preacher from London, said 
to Major Whittle : " I do not like the hymn ' I need 



Of the Gospel Hymns 141 

Thee every hour ' very well, because I need Him every 
moment of the day." Soon after Major Whittle wrote 
this sweet hymn, having the chorus : 

"Moment by moment I'm kept in His love; 
Moment by moment I've life from above; 
Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine; 
Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine." 

Mr. Whittle brought the hymn to me in manu- 
script a little later, saying that he would give me the 
copyright of both the words and music if I would print 
for him five hundred copies on fine paper, for distrib- 
uting among his friends. His daughter, May Whittle, 
who later became the wife of Will R. Moody, composed 
the music. I did as Mr. Whittle wished; and I sent 
the hymn to England, where it was copyrighted on the 
same day as at Washington. 

In England the hymn became very popular. Fall- 
ing into the hands of the well-known Rev. Andrew 
Murray, of South Africa, then visiting London, he 
adopted it as his favorite hymn. A year later Mr. 
Murray visited Northfield, and while holding a meet- 
ing for men in the church he remarked : " If Sankey 
only knew a hymn which I found in London, and would 
sing it, he would find that it embraces my entire creed." 

I was very anxious to know what hymn it was, 
and when he had recited it I said to him : " Doctor, that 
hymn was written within five hundred yards of where 
we are standing." 

For years Dr. Murray had his wife sing this hymn 
in nearly all his meetings. It also became a great 
favorite in South Africa during the war. 



14-2 San key's Story 

More to Follow 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Bliss 

"Have you on the Lord believed? 
Still there's more to follow." 

The suggestion for this hymn came to Mr. Bliss 
through hearing Mr. Moody tell the story of a vast 
fortune which was left in the hands of a minister for 
one of his poor parishioners. Fearing that it might 
be squandered if suddenly bestowed upon the bene- 
ficiary, the wise minister sent him a little at the time, 
with a note, saying : " This is thine ; use it wisely ; there 
is more to follow." 

Must I Go, and Empty-Handed 

Words by C. C. Luther Music by George C. Stebbins 

"Must I go, and empty-handed? 
Thus my dear Redeemer meet?" 

During a series of evangelistic meetings the Rev. 
A. G. Upham referred in his sermon to a young man 
who, dying after only a month of Christian service, said 
to a friend, " No, I am not afraid ; Jesus saves me now. 
But oh ! must I go, and empty-handed ? " The incident 
made a strong impression upon the Rev. C. C. Luther — 
for whom Mr. Upham was preaching — and in a few 
minutes the words of this hymn had arranged them- 
selves in Mr. Luther's mind. A few days later he 
handed them to Mr. Stebbins, who composed the beau- 
tiful tune to which they are sung. 

About fifteen years ago a man who was living a 
reckless, godless life, went to a Sunday morning service 



Of the Gospel Hymns 143 

in a mission hall in Essex, England. This hymn was 
used in the service, and as the third verse was rendered, 

"Oh, the years of sinning wasted, 

Could I but recall them now. 

I would give them to my Saviour, 

To His will I'd gladly bow," 

the man was so forcibly impressed that he could not 
take part in the singing. He went home miserable, 
and was unable to eat any dinner. In the afternoon 
he went to a Bible-class for workingmen, conducted at 
the other end of the village. As he entered the same 
hymn was being sung that had made him so miserable 
in the morning, " Must I go, and empty-handed ? " 
The man was so moved by the words of the hymn, 
and so impressed by the coincidence of its being sung 
at both places where he had attended, that it resulted in 
his conversion. He lived a consistent life thereafter, 
showing a real change of heart and a strong desire to 
no lon^r waste his years in sinning. 

My Ain Countrie 

Words by Mary Lee Demareat Har. by H. P. M. Music by Mrs. lone T. Hanna 

"I am far frae my hame, an' I'm weary aften-whiles, 
For the longed-for hame-bringin', an my Faither's welcome 
smiles." 

Many years ago John Macduff and his young 
bride left Scotland on a sailing vessel for America, 
there to seek their fortune. After tarrying a few 
weeks in New York they went West, where they were 
successful in accumulating a good competence. By 



144 Sankey s Story 

and by the wife's health began to fail. The anxious 
husband said that he feared she was homesick. 

" John," she replied, " I am wearying for my ain 
countrie ; will ye not taik me to the sea, that I may see 
the ships sailing to the homeland once more? " 

Her husband's heart was moved with compassion. 
In a few weeks he sold their Western home and took 
his wife East to a pleasant little cottage by the sea, 
whose further shore broke on the rocks that line the 
coast of Scotland. She would often sit and gaze wist- 
fully at the ships sailing from the bay, one after an- 
other disappearing below the horizon on their way to 
her ain countrie. Although she uttered no complaint, 
it was evident that she was silently pining away. John 
was afraid that she would die in a foreign land ; and 
as an effort to save her he sold his New England home, 
and took her back across the ocean. She was speedily 
recovered by the keen mountain air, the sight of purple 
heather, nodding bluebells, and hedge-rows white with 
fragrant hawthorn blossoms in bonnie Scotland, her 
own dear native land. To her it was home. And 
there is no sweeter word in any language than home ! 

A few years prior to this time, in 1838, Alary Lee 
was born at Croton Falls, New York. At an early 
age she lost her mother and was left in charge of a 
Scotch nurse, from whom she learned something of 
the Scottish dialect. And her grandfather, a native 
of Scotland, had often sung little Mary to sleep with 
Scottish lullabies. As a young woman she was re- 
fined and highly educated, and she exhibited unusual 
literary talent. Most of all she was esteemed for her 
noble Christian character, manifested in daily life. At 



Of the Gospel Hymns 145 

the age of twenty-three, Mary Lee wrote this immortal 
poem after hearing the story of John Macduff and 
his wife, and published it first in " The New York Ob- 
server." Later it appeared in a volume of her poems. 
After her marriage to Mr. Demarest they resided in 
Pasadena, California, where she died in 1887. While 
visiting that town a number of years later, I went to the 
cemetery to see if I could find the grave of the beloved 
hymn-writer, but was unable to do so. Afterward I 
learned that her body was brought East and buried in 
a small town not far from Albany, New York. 

This hymn was one of my favorite solos, and was 
much loved by Mr. Moody. 

My Country, 'Tis of Thee 

Words by S. F. Smith, D. D. Music by Henry Carey 

"My country, 'tis of thee. 
Sweet land of liberty." 

The words of this popular hymn, now known as 
the national hymn of America, were written in 1832. 
Dr. Smith says : " I found the tune in a German music- 
book, brought to this country by the late William C. 
Woodbridge, and put into my hands by Lowell Mason, 
because I could read German books and he could not." 
The real origin of the tune is much disputed, but the 
credit is usually given to Henry Carey. The hymn 
was first sung at a children's Fourth of July celebra- 
tion, in the Park Street Church, Boston. Dr. Samuel 
Francis Smith was born in Boston, October 21, 1808. 
He died in the same city, November 16, 1895, at the 
'' New York and New England " depot, while on his 
way to fulfill an engagement to preach at Readville. 



146 Sankefs Story 

While traveling in Egypt I met the author's son, 
who is a missionary in that country, and said to him 
that if I ever got home I would sing his father's song 
with new interest ; for I was now more than ever con- 
vinced that my beloved America, the land of liberty, 
was the dearest of all lands to me. 



Dr. Smith visited the Board of Trade in Chicago 
in May of 1887. While sitting in the gallery he was 
pointed out to some of the members. Soon he became 
the center of considerable notice. All at once the trad- 
ing on the floor ceased, and from the wheat-pit came 
the familiar words, " My country, 'tis of thee." After 
two stanzas had been sung, Dr. Smith arose and bowed. 
A rousing cheer was given by the men on the floor, 
to which Dr. Smith was now escorted by the secretary 
of the Board. The members flocked around Dr. Smith 
and grasped his hand. Then they opened a passage 
through the crowd and led him to the wheat-pit, where 
they took off their hats and sang the rest of the hymn. 

My Faith Looks up to Thee 

Words by Ray Palmer Music by Dr. Lowell Mason 

"My faith looks up to Thee, 
Thou Lamb of Calvary." 

" I gave form to what I felt," says Dr. Palmer, 
" by writing, with little effort, the stanzas. I recollect 
I wrote them with tender emotion and ended the last 
line with tears." He placed the manuscript in a pocket- 
book, and carried it there for some time. One day, in 



Of the Gospel Hymns 147 

Boston, he met Dr. Lowell Mason, who inquired if Mr. 
Palmer had not some hymn to contribute to his new 
book. The pocket-book was produced and the hymn 
was brought to light. Dr. Mason took a copy of the 
song, and after reaching home was so much impressed 
with it that he wrote for it the famous tune " Olivet," 
to which it is usually sung. A short time after he met 
the author on the street and exclaimed : 

" Mr. Palmer, you may live many years and do 
many good things, but I think you will be best known 
to posterity as the author of ' My faith looks up to 
Thee.' " 

The hymn was published in 1832, but did not at 
first receive much notice. The Rev. Andrew Reed, D.D., 
of Scotland — who wrote " Why not to-night ? " for 
which I composed the music — found a copy of the 
hymn in a religious newspaper while traveling in this 
country, took it home, and published it anonymously in 
his hymn-book. 

Dr. Palmer wrote me the following incident : 
" During the Civil War, and on the evening preceding 
a terrible battle, six or eight Christian young men, 
who were looking forward to deadly strife, met to- 
gether in one of their tents for prayer. After spending 
some time in committing themselves to God and in 
Christian conversation, and freely speaking together 
of the probability that they would not all survive the 
morrow, it was suggested by one of the number that 
they should draw up a paper expressive of the feelings 
with which they went to stand face to face with death, 
and all sign it ; and that this should be left as a testi- 



148 Sankeys Story 

mony to the friends of such of them as might fall. 
This was unanimously agreed to. After consultation, 
it was decided that a copy of ' My faith looks up to 
Thee ' should be written out, and that each man should 
subscribe his name to it, so that father, mother, sister 
or brother might know in what spirit they laid down 
their lives. Of course, they did not all meet again. 
The incident was related afterward by one who sur- 
vived the battle." 

My Jesus, I Love Thee 

Anonymous Music by A. J. Gordon 

"My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine, 
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign." 

A Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Michigan once 
related the following incident to a large audience in one 
of the Rev. E. P. Hammond's meetings in St. Louis : 
" A young, talented and tender-hearted actress was 
passing along the street of a large city. Seeing a pale, 
sick girl lying upon a couch just within the half-open 
door of a beautiful dwelling, she entered, with the 
thought that by her vivacity and pleasant conversation 
she might cheer the young invalid. The sick girl was 
a devoted Christian, and her words, her patience, her 
submission and heaven-lit countenance, so demon- 
strated the spirit of her religion that the actress was 
led to give some earnest thought to the claims of Chris- 
tianity, and was thoroughly converted, and became a 
true follower of Christ. She told her father, the leader 
of the theater troupe, of her conversion, and of her 
desire to abandon the stage, stating that she could 



Of the Gospel Hymns 149 

not live a consistent Christian life and follow the life 
of an actress. Her father was astonished beyond 
measure, and told his daughter that their living would 
be lost to them and their business ruined, if she per- 
sisted in her resolution. Loving her father dearly, she 
was shaken somewhat in her purpose, and partially 
consented to fill the published engagement to be met 
in a few days. She was the star of the troupe, and a 
general favorite. Every preparation was made for the 
play in which she was to appear. The evening came 
and the father rejoiced that he had won back his daugh- 
ter, and that their living was not to be lost. The hour 
arrived ; a large audience had assembled. The curtain 
rose, and the young actress stepped forward firmly 
amid the applause of the multitude. But an unwonted 
light beamed from her beautiful face. Amid the breath- 
less silence of the audience she repeated : 

'My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine; 
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign; 
My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art Thou; 
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.' 

This was all. Through Christ she had conquered, and, 
leaving her audience in tears, she retired from the 
stage, never to appear upon it again. Through her 
influence her father was converted, and through their 
united evangelistic labors many were led to God." 
>^> 

This selection was sung by a thousand voices at 
the funeral of the Scotch missionary hero, Robert 
Annan, who was drowned in the bay of Dundee while 
attempting to rescue a drowning child, in 1867. Under 



150 Sankeys Story 

the hymn " Eternity," previously mentioned in this 
book, more will be found concerning Robert Annan. 



Nearer, My God to Thee 

Words by Sarah F. Adams Music by Dr. Lowell Mason 

"Nearer, my God, to Thee, 
Nearer to Thee." 

One of my last lectures on " Sacred Song and 
Story " was delivered before a large audience in the 
Church of the Covenant, in Washington, D. C, at 
which the late Secretary of State, John Hay, members 
of Congress, and Judges of the Supreme Court were 
present. The favorite hymn, " Nearer, my God, to 
Thee," was sung very heartily by the congregation. I 
requested the pastor, the Rev. Dr. Hamlin, to make 
an appointment for an interview with President Mc- 
Kinley. Two days later we visited the White House. 
The President greeted me warmly, saying he was very 
glad to meet me, as he had often heard me sing in Ohio. 
" I understand that you are quite a fine singer your- 
self," I replied. He smiled and said : " I don't know 
as to that, but I try to sing with the spirit and with 
the understanding." He seemed very bright and 
happy, and he gave me his autograph. The next day 
the President went to New York and attended service 
at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, during 
which " Nearer, my God, to Thee " was sung. The 
President's voice was heard, as he joined heartily in 
his favorite hymn. A reporter took a photograph of 
the President as he was singing, which appeared the 
next day in one of the New York papers. In 1902, 



Of the Gospel Hymns 151 

in^l&ifr'alo, as he lay dying by the hand of an assassin, 
the martyred President was heard singing faintly, 

"Nearer, my God, to Thee, 
Nearer to Thee; 
E'en though it be a cross 
That raiseth me! 
Still all my song shall be — 
Nearer, my God, to Thee, 
Nearer to Thee!" 

And thus passed away one of the noblest men of our 
age. On the day of his funeral, at Canton, Ohio, all 
trains, trolley cars and nearly all machinery in the 
United States were stopped for five minutes, and 
" Nearer, my God, to Thee " was sung in nearly every 
church in the land. 

Bishop Marvin, of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, was traveling during the Civil War in the 
wilds of Arkansas. He was feeling much depressed, 
for the Union troops had driven him from his home. 
As he approached a dilapidated old log cabin he heard 
some one singing, " Nearer, my God, to Thee." He 
alighted and entered the house. There he found a 
poor woman, widowed and old, who was singing in the 
midst of such poverty as he had never seen before. 
His despondency vanished and he went on his way 
happy and trustful, because of the faith which he had 
seen and the hymn which he had heard. 
*%* 

A little drummer boy was found, after the battle 
of Fort Donelson, by one who visited the field. The 
poor lad had lost an arm, which had been carried away 



152 Sankey's Story 

by a cannon ball, but even as he lay there dying he was 
singing, " Nearer, my God, to Thee." 

No Hope in Jesus 

Words by W. O. Cushing Music by Robert Lowry 

"Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour! 
No Rock, no Refuge nigh!" 

From the " Rescue Mission," of Syracuse, New 
York, comes this incident. " One of the workers at the 
Rescue Mission sat at the window sewing. She is not 
a grand singer, in fact, scarcely ever sings in the meet- 
ing ; but alone by herself she sings the Gospel songs. 
She was singing : 

'Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour. . . . 
How dark this world must be!' 

When she had finished she heard some one calling, and 
saw two girls looking over a neighboring fence. One 
said : ' Won't you please sing that again ? ' 

" I am afraid some of us would have begun to 
make excuse, and say we were not singers. But this 
soul sang it over again, praying God to bless the song, 
and then went to talk with them. She recognized 
them as inmates of a house of evil resort, and asked 
permission to call on them. They would not grant 
this, but the next day one came to the mission and 
threw herself, weeping, into the arms of the singer, 
saying : ' I have been so unhappy since I heard you 
sing! You remind me of my mother and the days 
when I was innocent and good. I had a good home, 
but quarreled with my mother, ran away and got into 



Of the Gospel Hymns 153 

a life of sin ; I am tired of it, won't you pray for me? ' 
They had prayer, and the poor wandering one was 
led to the Saviour. She said : ' I'll never go back to 
that place again. I'm going to the poor-master and 
ask him to send me home.' 

" The worker furnished the money to pay her fare 
to her home in a neighboring city, and she went away 
rejoicing. This was some time ago. One evening the 
girl, accompanied by her father, paid a visit to the mis- 
sion. She was happy in Christ, and had led eleven 
souls to him, her father and mother being among the 
number. Her father was full of praise and thanksgiv- 
ing to God for what he had done for his erring child, 
and tears ran down his cheeks as he thanked the singer 
for the song, and for the help she had been to his 
daughter. Her desire is to work among the fallen 
ones from among whom she was rescued." 

Not Half has ever been Told 

Words by the Rev. J. B. Atchinson Music by O. F. Presbrey 

"I have read of a beautiful city, 
Far away in the kingdom of God." 

" A young skeptic in Ohio," writes Dr. O. F. 
Presbrey, " was wasting away with consumption. His 
family were greatly distressed, for nothing seemed to 
awaken in him an interest regarding his soul. One 
day, as he lay on the sofa, his sister, sitting at the organ, 
sang, ' Not half has ever been told.' He seemed much 
affected and said, ' Oh, sister, sing that hymn again, I 
never had anything touch my heart like that before.' 
The hymn was sung again, and day by day he listened 



154 Sankefs Story 

to it. Within two months his spirit took its flight, 
singing as it went, 

'Not half of that city's bright glory, 
To mortals has ever been told.' " 



A clergyman had a son who was sent up into the 
north woods of Canada in search of health. After a 
few weeks his father was summoned, and found him in 
a dying condition. On the evening before his death 
they sang together " Not half has ever been told." The 
father says that he can never forget the joy and peace 
which filled the soul of his dying boy as they sang of 
that beautiful city of which he was so soon to be an 
inhabitant. 

Not Now, My Child 

Words by Mrs. Pennefather Music by Ira D. Sankey 

"Not now, my child, — a little more rough tossing, 
A little longer on the billows' foam." 

Mrs. Pennefather, the author of this hymn, was 
the wife of one of the ministers who invited Mr. Moody 
and me to England in 1873. She was one of the found- 
ers of the Mildmay Conference, in the north of Lon- 
don, and also organized the famous Deaconess Society, 
composed of many ladies of distinction who therein 
seek a field for religious effort. I arranged her hymn 
to music, and often used to sing it as a solo. 

A young lady of a titled family, walking one day 
along the Strand, saw crowds pushing into the large 
building where we were holding meetings. Following 
the crowd, she soon found herself seated and listening 



Of the Gospel Hymns 155 

to a stirring sermon by Mr. Moody. I also sang this 
hymn as a solo. The whole service much impressed 
the young lady. At the conclusion of the meeting, 
when Mr. Moody invited all who desired to become 
Christians to rise, she stood up with hundreds of 
others, and later went into the inquiry-room and there 
gave her heart to God. When she went home she an- 
nounced to her family that she had become a Chris- 
tian, and they laughed her to scorn. After a few weeks 
she decided to leave her home and cast in her lot with 
those who were living for Christ. She went to Mrs. 
Pennefather, and put on the dress of a deaconess. 
There she continued for over a year. One day, more 
than a year later, she received a letter from her father, 
a Lord of the realm, asking her to accompany him on 
his yachting trip to the north of Scotland. While on 
the trip she was successful in leading her father to the 
Saviour. Landing in Scotland, they found some 
friends from London in a little fishing village. On Sun- 
day the question arose as to where they would attend 
service. They finally agreed to go to a neighboring 
village where a visiting clergyman was to give an ad- 
dress. The young lady and her father were greatly 
impressed with the sermon. The next day when they 
returned to the yacht, his Lordship remarked that he 
would like to have that clergyman preach his funeral 
sermon. On the return trip the old gentleman caught 
a severe cold, and died soon afterward. The young 
lady communicated her father's wish to the clergyman, 
and he conducted the funeral services. The clergy- 
man became interested in the young lady, and sought 
her hand in marriage. After their wedding they moved 



156 Sankey s Story 

to Scotland, residing on a large estate to which the 
clergyman had fallen heir. When Mr. Moody and I 
were carrying on the campaign in Scotland we were 
invited to visit their castle. During our visit there we 
held meetings in the neighborhood for the miners. At 
the suggestion of our host we used to go into the forest 
and cut down trees for exercise. Before leaving the 
estate each of us planted a tree near the castle gate, 
and the clergyman named one of them " Moody," and 
the other " Sankey." 

Nothing but Leaves 

Words by L. E. Akerman Music by Silas J. Vail 

"Nothing but leaves! The Spirit grieves 
O'er years of wasted life." 

Mrs. Lucy Evelina Akerman, the author of this 
hymn, died in Providence, Rhode Island, 1874, at the 
age of twenty-four. 

The hymn was a special favorite at the early 
Moody and Sankey meetings. I often sang it as a solo 
for Mr. Moody's lecture on " The Holy Spirit." While 
singing it in Birmingham a lady was convinced, as she 
wrote me afterwards, that her life had been nothing 
but leaves ; and she then decided to devote the rest 
of her life to rescuing her lost sisters. She secured a 
building, which she called "The Rescue Home," and 
for years she gathered in poor, wretched girls from 
the streets of the city, gave them employment, and 
taught them the way of life. Through her efforts hun- 
dreds of girls were saved. After her death the city 
officials took up her work, employing other women, 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 5 7 

who are still engaged in seeking the lost ones. On my 
last visit to England I had the pleasure of visiting this 
rescue home and singing for the inmates. 



" During the mission in 1884," writes M. C. 
Boardman, of Stratford, East London, " the hymn 
' Nothing but leaves ' was often sung. It brought con- 
viction to one of the stewards. He said that this song 
disturbed him. For years he had been a professor of 
religion, but with personal interest in view. He said 
he trusted that henceforth there would be fruit as well 
as leaves in his life. From that time he has been an 
ardent Christian worker." 

O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing 

Words by Charles Wesley Musie by Oliver Holden 

"O for a thousand tongues to sing 
My great Redeemer's praise." 

When Charles Wesley consulted Peter Bohler as 
to the propriety of praising God, he replied, " Had I a 
thousand tongues, I would praise him with all " — an 
expression that is believed to have inspired the opening 
line of this hymn which Wesley wrote, in 1739, to com- 
memorate the first anniversary of his new birthday, the 
day of his conversion. When John Wesley made his 
collection of hymns for the use of the Methodists, he 
selected this one to stand as the first hymn in the book. 
To this clay it remains in that place of honor, and as 
the Rev. S. W. Duffield says, it " well deserves the 
prominence." 



158 Sankeys Story 

Oh, to be Nothing 

Words by Georgiana M. Taylor Music by R. G. Halls. Arr. by P. P. Bliss 

" Oh, to be nothing, nothing, 
Only to lie at His feet." 

Miss Taylor writes me : " The idea for the hymn 
came into my mind through reading the expression, 
' Oh, to be nothing,' in a volume of an old magazine. 
I think it occurred in an anecdote about an aged Chris- 
tian worker. At all events the words haunted me ; I 
mused on their meaning, and the hymn was the out- 
come." 

Some one has misinterpreted the true meaning of 
the hymn, and has written another entitled, " Oh, to be 
something." But it is not in accordance with the Mas- 
ter, who made himself nothing ; nor is it in the spirit 
of the text which says that he that abaseth himself shall 
in due time be exalted. 

This hymn was much used as a solo in our meet- 
ings in Great Britain. 

Oh, what are You Going to Do ? 

Words by Fanny J. Crosby Music by Philip Phillips 

"Oh, what are you going to do, brother? 
Say, what are you going to do?" 

Away back in 1867 this hymn was written and 
dedicated to the Young Men's Christian Associations 
of America. For many years I used it both in Great 
Britain and America. Many testimonies have been 
given of the blessing it has brought to young men who 
have heard it sung. 

" I have a young men's Bible-class," writes a 
Christian worker in Rotherham, England. " Some 



Of the Gospel Hymns 159 

years ago one of my scholars brought a stranger to the 
class, who had just come to our town on business. He 
continued to attend very regularly for about a year. 
Having obtained a better business appointment in a 
distant town, he told me before leaving the class that 
when he first arrived he had fully made up his mind to 
shake himself free from all religious influence; as he 
had come to a strange town where no one knew him, 
he would enjoy himself any way he chose. But he con- 
sented to attend the class just once. The first hymn 
sung was, 'Oh, what are you going to do, brother? 
Say, what are you going to do?' He could not get 
it out of his head all the week, and it was the means 
of entirely setting aside his intentions. On arriving 
at his new home he immediately united with a Chris- 
tian church. His steady, consistent life won for him 
further promotion in business, and he now fills a posi- 
tion of usefulness and responsibility in an important 
town. All the good he had received he attributed to 
that hymn on the first Sunday of his residence here." 

On Jordan's Stormy Banks 

Words by the Rev. Samuel Stennett Music by T. C. O'Kane 

" On Jordan's stormy banks I stand, 
And cast a wishful eye." 

While visiting the Holy Land I sang this hymn 
on the banks of the Jordan, opposite Mount Horeb, 
where God showed Moses the promised land of Ca- 
naan. As the banks of the Jordan are not stormy, the 
word " rugged " has by many been substituted for 
" stormy " in the first line. 



160 Saiikeys Story 

Of the many hymns written by Dr. Stennett, this 
is one of the most famous. The author was born at 
Exeter, England. His father was the pastor of the 
Baptist Church, in Little Wild Street, London. With 
this church young Sennett united. He became his 
father's assistant, and later his successor, continuing 
in that pastorate until his death, in 1795, at the age 
of sixty-eight. He was noted as the friend of King 
George III. The hymn was first published in Rippon's 
" Selections," in 1787. 

One more Day's Work for Jesus 

Words by Miss Anna Warner Music by the Rev. Robert Lowry 

" One more day's work for Jesus; 
One less of life for me." 

One day, while the children in a Mission Chapel 
were singing " One more day's work for Jesus," a 
woman passing by stopped outside to listen. She 
went home with these words fixed in her mind. The 
next day, as she was bending over the washtub, the 
words of the hymn came to her again and aroused the 
question, " Have I ever done one day's work for Jesus 
in all my life?" That marked the turning point. 
There and then she began to work for Christ. She 
washed the clothes for Jesus, cleaned the house for 
Jesus, administered the needs of her family for Jesus. 
A new light came into her life ; and at the close of 
that day she could sing with a different feeling and a 
new enthusiasm: 

"One more day's work for Jesus; 
How sweet the work has been." 



Of the Gospel Hymns 161 

One Sweetly Solemn Thought 

Words by Phoebe Carey Music by Philip Phillips 

"One sweetly solemn thought 
Comes to me o'er and o'er." 

A gentleman traveling in China found at Macao a 
company of gamblers in a back room on the upper floor 
of a hotel. At the table nearest him was an American, 
about twenty years old, playing with an old man. While 
the gray-haired man was shuffling the cards, the young 
man, in a careless way, sang a verse of " One sweetly 
solemn thought," to a very pathetic tune. Several 
gamblers looked up in surprise on hearing the singing. 
The old man, who was dealing the cards, gazed stead- 
fastly at his partner in the game, and then threw the 
pack of cards under the table. 

" Where did you learn that song? " he asked. The 
young man pretended that he did not know that he had 
been singing. " Well, no matter," said the old man, 
" I have played my last game, and that's the end of it. 
The cards may lie there till doomsday, and I'll never 
pick them up." Having won a hundred dollars from 
the young man, he took the money from his pocket and, 
handing it over to the latter, said : " Here, Harry, is 
your money ; take it and do good with it ; I shall with 
mine." 

The traveler followed them downstairs, and at the 
door heard the old man still talking about the song 
which the young man had sung. Long afterward a 
gentleman in Boston received a letter from the old 
man, in which he declared that he had become a " hard- 
working Christian," and that his young friend also 
had renounced gambling and kindred vices. 



1 62 San key's Story 

This hymn was composed in a little third-story 
bedroom one Sunday morning in 1852, after the author 
had come from church. Miss Carey was then twenty- 
eight. She died in Newport, Rhode Island, nineteen 
years later. 

Only a Step to Jesus 

Words by Fanny J. Crosby Music by W. H. Doane 

"Only a step to Jesus! 
Then why not take it now?" 

The editor of a religious periodical in the South 
sends me the following incident, which occurred while 
he was holding meetings in a small town : " One night 
a prominent man of the county, not a Christian, was 
in town. Having heard of the fine singing, he went 
to the meeting for a few minutes to listen to a song or 
two. He heard only one song and then went away; 
but that song went with him. It was, ' Only a step to 
Jesus ! Then why not take it now ? ' The words 
stayed with him, and were repeated over and over. 
They came back to him the next day, and awakened 
inquiry regarding himself which at last led him into 
repentance and a happy conversion. Many people 
wept as he related his experience before the church." 

Only Trust Him 

Words by J. H. S. Music by J. H. Stockton 

" Come, every soul by sin oppressed 
There's mercy with the Lord." 

While on the way to England with Mr. Moody 
in 1873, one day in mid-ocean, as I was looking over a 
list of hymns in my scrap-book, I noticed one com- 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 63 

meriting, " Come every soul by sin oppressed," written 
by the Rev. John Stockton, with the familiar chorus, 

" Come to Jesus, 
Come to Jesus, 
Come to Jesus just now." 

Believing that these words had been so often sung 
that they were hackneyed, I decided to change 
them and tell how to come to Jesus by substituting the 
words, " Only trust him." In this form it was first pub- 
lished in " Sacred Songs and Solos " in London. While 
holding meetings in Her Majesty's Theater in Pall 
Mall, London, and singing this hymn, I thought I 
would change the chorus again, and asked the people 
to sing 

" I will trust Him, 

I will trust Him, 

I will trust Him just now." 

Then as we sang I decided to change it once more, 
and asked them to sing, "I do trust him." God 
blessed this rendering of the hymn to eight persons 
present, who testified afterward that by the change 
they were led to accept salvation. 

" I am much interested in sacred songs," writes a 
missionary in England, "because it was the first verse 
of ' Only trust Him ' that opened the door of my heart 
to let the Master into my soul in all his fulness. I 
was in the army, and found my way to the Woolwich 
Soldiers' Home, where I heard the Gospel ; and for a 
fortnight I was groping in the dark for peace, when 
one evening I heard the singing of 'Only trust Him,' 



1 64 Sankey's Story 

which brought light into my soul. I have ever since 
been happy, serving Him with my whole heart. I 
am now a missionary to my comrades." 

Onward, Christian Soldiers 

Words by S. Baring-Gould Music by A. S. Sullivan 

"Onward, Christian soldiers! 
Marching as to war." 

Written for a special occasion, the author was 
totally unprepared for the subsequent popularity of 
this hymn. In 1895 he said regarding its composi- 
tion : " Whit-Monday is a great day for school festivals 
in Yorkshire. One Whit-Monday, thirty years ago, it 
was arranged that our school should join forces with 
that of a neighboring village. I wanted the children 
to sing when marching from one village to another, but 
couldn't think of anything quite suitable ; so I sat up 
at night, resolved that I would write something myself. 
' Onward, Christian soldiers ' was the result. It was 
written in great haste, and I am afraid some of the 
rhymes are faulty. Certainly nothing has surprised 
me more than its popularity. I don't remember how 
it got printed first, but I know that very soon it found 
its way into several collections. I have written a few 
other hymns since then, but only two or three have 
become at all well-known." The tune to which it is 
now sung is the one by which Sir Arthur Sullivan is 
likely to be known longest to posterity. 

Mr. Moody would not give out this hymn in con- 
nection with his meetings, as he thought it contained 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 65 

too much vain boasting. He would exclaim : "We are 
a nice lot of soldiers ! " 

Out of the Shadow-land 

Words by Ira D. Sankey Music by Ira D. Sankey 

" Out of the shadow-land, into the sunshine, 
Cloudless, eternal, that fades not away." 

I wrote this hymn especially for the memorial 
service held for Mr. Moody in Carnegie Hall, where I 
also sang it as a solo. It was the last sacred song to 
which I wrote both the words and music. It has been 
largely adopted in England as a funeral hymn. As it 
does not appear in " Gospel Hymns " the words as 
they are found in " Sacred Songs and Solos " are here 
given in full. 

OUT OF THE SHADOW-LAND 
Out of the shadow-land, into the sunshine, 

Cloudless, eternal, that fades not away; 
Softly and tenderly Jesus will call us; 
Home, where the ransom'd are gath'ring to-day. 

Chorus. 
Silently, peacefully, angels will bear us 

Into the beautiful mansions above; 
There shall we rest from earth's toiling forever, 

Safe in the arms of God's infinite love. 

Out of the shadow-land, weary and changeful, 

Out of the valley of sorrow and night, 
Into the rest of the life everlasting, 

Into the summer of endless delight. 

Out of the shadow-land, over life's ocean, 

Into the rapture and joy of the Lord, 
Safe in the Father's house, welcomed by angels, 

Ours the bright crown and eternal reward. 



1 66 Sankeys Story 

Over the Line 

Words by Ellen K. Bradford Music by E. H. Phelps 

"Oh, tender and sweet was the Master's voice 
As He lovingly called to me." 

We were holding meetings in Springfield, Massa- 
chusetts, in 1878. One day, at the noon meeting in 
City Hall, a minister rose on the platform and bore 
testimony to the way the Lord had blessed one of his 
sons, a Yale student. " My son," he said, "happened 
to be seated beside a gentleman from England in one 
of Mr. Moody's meetings. Tarrying for the after- 
meeting, he was spoken to by the gentleman beside 
him about becoming a Christian. After half an hour 
spent in talking they went out into the street, and the 
gentleman said that he would gladly walk home with 
my son if he had no objection, as he had nothing else 
to do. They came at last to the gate which led to my 
home. Before parting, the earnest Christian worker 
said he would like to offer one more prayer for my 
boy. Holding the young man's hand, he asked that 
the Lord would enable him to decide the great question 
that very night. With this prayer they separated. 
The gentleman left town the next day, and may never 
know how God heard and answered his prayer. 

" My son was greatly impressed. Approaching 
the house, he stopped suddenly, made a deep line across 
the graveled walk with his cane, and said : ' Now, I 
must decide this question, for or against Christ, to- 
night. If I cross the line my life shall be for him ; but 
if I go around it, it will be for the world.' Standing 
there considering the great question with himself for 



Of the Gospel Hymns 167 

a half hour, at last he cried : ' O God, help me to decide 
aright ! ' Then he went bounding over the line, and 
came into my room and said : ' Father, I wish you 
would pray for me ! I have decided to be a Chris- 
tian.' " The minister said that his heart went out in 
supplication to God to keep and bless his boy. 

This story affected the audience to tears. One of 
the newspapermen, Mr. E. H. Phelps, proprietor of 
one of the leading papers of the city, took down the 
father's story and published it the next morning. And 
Mrs. Bradford, of Palmer, in the same state, after 
reading the incident in the paper, sat down and wrote 
" Over the Line." She sent the hymn to the editor of 
the paper, Mr. Phelps, and he at once set it to music. 
Three days later he handed the song to me. I adapted 
it and had it published in "Gospel Hymns." It has 
been blessed to thousands of souls all over the world, 
leading to the conversion of very many. 

" While I was holding a series of revival meetings 
at Brigham, Utah," relates an Iowa clergyman, " a man 
was brought to a full surrender of himself to Christ by 
the singing of the hymn, ' Over the Line.' The first 
two or three meetings made him very angry, and he 
determined not to go any more ; but as the services 
increased in interest his anxiety and troubled mind 
induced him to return, yet only as an observer. He 
remained in the lecture-room, which opened into the 
audience-room. Here he was noticed walking the floor, 
as if in bodily pain. But when at the close of the meet- 
ing we sang this hymn, he advanced toward the pulpit, 
made a long step as though stepping over some object, 



1 68 Sankeys Story 

reached out his hand and said in a loud, determined 
voice : ' I have stepped over the line.' This dramatic 
surrender to Christ and public profession had a power- 
ful effect upon the audience, and many more followed 

his example." 

-^ 

A missionary sends me the following incident : " I 
was holding a gospel meeting one Sunday in a 
Woman's Christian Temperance Union mission. We 
were on our bended knees when the Spirit said to me, 
sing, ' Over the Line.' When we arose I turned to the 
lady at the organ, who had a consecrated voice, and 
said, sing ' Over the Line.' At the close a man rose 
and spoke as follows : ' I came away from home and 
family and work two weeks ago in a drunken spree. 
Since I came to your city I have often heard of this 
mission, and was asked to come, but with oaths I re- 
fused up to an hour ago, and then I entered this room. 
The same spirit of unbelief possessed me until this lady 
began to sing. Those words went to my heart ; they 
were all written for me, and as she sang the last verse 
I crossed the line, I gave myself, and ' — with a deep 
sob — ' He took me.' " 

Pass Me Not 

Words by Fanny J. Crosby Music by W. H. Doane 

"Pass me not, O gentle Saviour, 
Hear my humble cry." 

An earnest Christian pastor told of a young man 
about whom he had long felt much anxiety, as he had 
seemed so unconcerned about his soul, and was, in 
reality, a real cause of disturbance and interruption in 
the classes for other young men. 



Of the Gospel Hymns 169 

Meeting him one day, the loving pastor sought 
once more to influence him, urging, " We want you 
for Christ and his service." There was a certain 
change in his manner which did not escape the eye of 
the prayerful watcher for souls, and — lacking time to 
do more — he seized the opportunity to secure the pres- 
ence of his young friend at a Christian Endeavor meet- 
ing soon to be held. True to his promise he was there. 
When an opportunity was given for some of the young 
men to choose a song, it was seen that he was urging 
his companion to select some particular hymn. The 
other, yielding to his request, asked if the hymn, " Pass 
me not, O gentle Saviour," might be sung; and both 
young men joined in the singing with evident interest 
and heartiness. Later in the evening it was requested 
that all who were definitely on the Lord's side would 
confess their allegiance by standing. Whereupon the 
one over whom the heart of the pastor was specially 
yearning rose at once, and with decision. 

" Tell me about your conversion," the thankful 
pastor requested at the close of the meeting, when 
hands were clasped in glad, brotherly welcome and 
recognition. 

" Oh, yes," assented the other. " It was all 
through that hymn we have just sung. I was working 
on the canal at G — , and there was a meeting being 
held at the Mariner's Chapel, near by. The words 
floated out over the water, and from the tug where I 
was working I could hear them plainly enough. When 
they were just going to sing those lines — 
'While on others Thou are calling, 
Do not pass me by!' 



170 Sankeys Story 

a great fear came over me, and I thought, ' Oh, if the 
Lord were to pass me by, how terrible it would be ! ' 
Then and there, on the tug, I cried out : ' O Lord, do 
not pass me by.' And " — with a bright smile — " he 
didn't pass me by. I am saved." 



No hymn in our collection was more popular than 
this at our meetings in London in 1874. It was sung 
almost every day in Her Majesty's Theater, in Pall 
Mall, and has been translated into several languages. 

At one of our noonday prayer-meetings in Glas- 
gow a prominent gentleman was awakened by the sing- 
ing of this hymn. He had been very much opposed to 
our meetings, and his opposition was not lessened 
when he saw his wife converted. That day he had 
agreed to attend the meeting for the last time, as a 
sort of concession ; and that was the day when the 
Spirit of God touched him by this hymn. 

Peace ! Be Still ! 

Words by Miss M. A. Baker Music by H. R. Palmer 

"Master, the tempest is raging! 
The billows are tossing high!" 

When a deep and comforting spiritual experience 
finds expression it will surely bring comfort to others, 
as this hymn has done many times. Miss Mary A. 
Baker has told of its origin : 

" Dr. Palmer requested me to prepare several 
songs on the subject of the current Sunday-school les- 
sons. One of the themes was ' Christ Stilling the Tern- 



Of the Gospel Hymns 171 

pest.' It so expressed an experience I had recently 
passed through, that this hymn was the result. A very 
dear and only brother, a young man of rare loveliness 
and promise of character, had been laid in the grave, a 
victim of the same disease that had already taken father 
and mother. His death occurred under peculiarly dis- 
tressing circumstances. He was more than a thousand 
miles away from home, seeking in the balmy air of the 
sunny South the healing that our colder climate could 
not give. Suddenly he grew worse. The writer was 
ill and could not go to him. For two weeks the long 
lines of telegraph wires carried back and forth mes- 
sages between the dying brother and his waiting sisters, 
ere the word came which told us that our beloved 
brother was no longer a dweller on the earth. Al- 
though we mourned not as those without hope, and al- 
though I had believed on Christ in early childhood and 
had always desired to give the Master a consecrated 
and obedient life, I became wickedly rebellious at this 
dispensation of divine providence. I said in my heart 
that God did not care for me or mine. But the Master's 
own voice stilled the tempest in my unsanctified heart, 
and brought it to the calm of a deeper faith and a more 
perfect trust. Since then I have given much of my 
time and strength to active temperance work as a mem- 
ber of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Wit- 
nessing the unparalleled suffering that comes to sisters, 
wives and mothers through the legalized curse of our 
land, the rum traffic, which is yearly slaying its thou- 
sands and tens of thousands in their early manhood 
and hurrying them into dishonored graves, I have 
come to feel a keen sense of gratitude for the sweet 



172 Sankey s Story 

memories left of my departed brother. God's way is 
best. 

" I supposed that the hymn had done its work 
and gone to rest. But, during the weeks when our 
nation kept watch by the bedside of our greatly be- 
loved President Garfield, it was republished as espe- 
cially appropriate to the time, and was sung at some of 
the many funeral services held throughout the United 
States. It is quite a surprise to me that this humble 
hymn should have crossed the seas and been sung in 
far distant lands to the honor of the Saviour's name." 



Pull for the Shore 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Bliss 

"Light in the darkness, sailor, day is at hand! 
See o'er the foaming billows fair Haven's land." 

One one occasion the vessel on which Mr. Moody 
was returning from Europe, accompanied by his oldest 
son, was disabled by the breaking of a propelling shaft. 
Mrs. Moody was at my home in Brooklyn, waiting to 
receive them on their arrival. Day after day passed 
without word from the steamer, and Mrs. Moody be- 
came almost frantic with anxiety. At last I received 
this cable dispatch from Mr. Moody : " Saved, thank 
God." I learned afterwards that the people gathered 
around him and begged him to pray for their deliver- 
ance. Several infidels on board, who had been mak- 
ing light of Mr. Moody's work, were found kneeling 
at his side, and through the earnestness of his prayers 
and divine help they were led to Christ. 



Of the Gospel Hymns 173 

Rescue the Perishing 

Words by Fanny J. Crosby Music by W. H. Doane 

" Rescue the perishing, 
Care for the dying." 

On a stormy night a middle-aged man staggered 
into the Bowery Mission. He was intoxicated, his 
face unwashed and unshaven, and his clothes soiled 
and torn. He sank into a seat, and, gazing around, 
seemed to wonder what kind of a place he had come 
into. " Rescue the perishing " and other gospel hymns 
were sung and seemed to interest him, and to recall 
some memory of his youth long since forgotten. As 
the leader of the meeting told the simple story of the 
Gospel, and how the Lord had come to seek and save 
sinners, the man listened eagerly. The leader in his 
younger days had been a soldier and had seen hard 
and active service. In the course of his remarks he 
mentioned several incidents which had occurred in his 
experience during the war, and he gave the name of 
the company in which he served. At the close of the 
meeting the man eagerly staggered up to the leader 
and in a broken voice said : 

" When were you in that company you spoke of? " 

" Why, all through the war," said the leader. 

" Do you remember the battle of ? " 

" Perfectly." 

" Do you remember the name of the captain of 
your company at that time." 

" Yes, his name was ." 

" You are right ! I am that man. I was your 
captain. Look at me to-day, and see what a wreck I 



174 Sankeys Story 

am. Can you save your old captain? I have lost 
everything I had in the world through drink, and I 
don't know where to go." 

He was saved that night, and was soon helped by 
some of his former friends to get back his old position. 
He often told the story of how a soldier saved his cap- 
tain, and how much he loved the words of " Rescue the 
perishing." 

A man in Sussex, England, gives this testimony : 
" I believe I can attribute my conversion, through the 
grace of God, to one verse of that precious hymn, 
' Rescue the perishing.' I was far away from my 
Saviour, and living without a hope in Jesus. I was 
very fond of singing hymns, and one day I came across 
this beautiful piece, and when I had sung the words, 

'Touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness, 
Chords that were broken will vibrate once more,' 

I fell upon my knees and gave my heart to the Lord 
Jesus Christ. From that hour I have followed him 
who, through this verse, touched my heart and made 
it vibrate with his praises ever since." 

Fanny Crosby returned, one day, from a visit to 
v. mission in one of the worst districts in New York 
City, where she had heard about the needs of the lost 
and perishing. Her sympathies were aroused to help 
the lowly and neglected, and the cry of her heart went 
forth in this hymn, which has become a battle-cry for 
the great army of Christian workers throughout the 
world. It has been used very extensively in temper- 



Of the Gospel Hymns 175 

ance work, and has been blessed to thousands of souls. 
Mr. Moody was very fond of it, and has borne testi- 
mony to its power to reach the hearts of wanderers. 
It was also a favorite of the two great temperance 
workers, Frances E. Willard and Francis Murphy. 



Rest for the Weary 

Words by the Rev. S. Y. Harmer Music by the Rev. William McDonald 

"In the Christian's home in glory, 
There remains a land of rest;" 

A fifteen-year-old girl, of good family, was pres- 
ent at one of our meetings in the Free College Church 
of Glasgow, in 1874, and at the close of the meeting 
remained among the inquirers at the College Hall. 
Here she was spoken to by a lady, and was led to 
Christ. Going home, she told her mother that she 
was now happy in the Lord. That very night she was 
taken sick, symptoms of scarlet fever appearing. Prayer 
was offered for her at the daily prayer-meetings. Per- 
haps most of her friends thought that the Lord would 
answer their supplications by restoring her to health ; 
but he had a purpose of another kind. He meant to 
take her away to himself, and to teach others by her 
removal. When it was evident that she was dying 
she told her father that she was going home to Christ. 
Near the end, he tried to sing with her " In the Chris- 
tian's home in glory." She caught up the words, 

"There my Saviour's gone before me, 
To fulfill my soul's request." 

and faithfully repeated them. Her voice died away ; 



176 Sankeys Story 

those were the last words she was heard to utter. 
Before this she had sent a message of thanks to Mr. 
Moody and myself, and to the lady who had led her 
to Christ. 

" Ah," said Mr. Moody, in telling of this, " would 
not any one have regretted missing the opportunity of 
helping this soul, who has sent back her thanks from 
the very portals of glory?" 

Ring the Bells of Heaven 

Words by William O. Gushing Music by George F. Root 

"Ring the bells of heaven! there is joy to-day 
For a soul, returning from the wild." 

" ' Ring the bells of heaven ' was written," says 
the author, " to fit a beautiful tune sent me by George 
F. Root, entitled, ' The little Octoroon.' After receiv- 
ing it, the melody ran in my head all day long, chiming 
and flowing in its sweet musical cadence. I wished 
greatly that I might secure the tune for work in the 
Sunday-school and for other Christian purposes. When 
I heard the bells of heaven ringing over some sinner 
that had returned, it seemed like a glad day in heaven. 
Then the words ' Ring the bells of heaven,' at once 
flowed down into the waiting melody. It was a beau- 
tiful and blessed experience, and the bells seem ringing 
yet." 

A little girl in England, who was much beloved 
by her parents, was dying. She had been very fond 
of our hymns and would often speak of how much 
she loved them. A few days before she died she said 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 7 7 

to her mother : " When I am gone, mother, will you 
ask the girls of the school to sing that hymn, 

'Ring the bells of heaven! There is joy to-day, 

For a soul returning from the wild; 
See! the Father meets him out upon the way, 

Welcoming His weary, wandering child! 
Glory! glory! how the angels sing! 
Glory! glory! how the loud harps ring!' " 

Half an hour before her departure she exclaimed : 
" Oh, mother, listen to the bells of heaven ! they are 
ringing so beautifully ! " 

Rock of Ages 

Words by A. M. Toplady Music by Dr. Thomas Hastings 

"Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in Thee." 

In the year 1756 a young man of sixteen, while 
visiting with his mother in Ireland, attended an evan- 
gelistic meeting held in a barn at the little village of 
Codymain. At this meeting the young man was con- 
verted. He was none other than Augustus Montague 
Toplady, who afterwards wrote this famous hymn. 
Of his conversion the author says : " St^Jnge that I, 
who had so long sat under the means in England, 
should be brought right unto God in an obscure part 
of Ireland, midst a handful of people met together in 
a barn, and by the ministry of one who could hardly 
spell his own name. Surely it was the Lord's doing, 
and is marvelous." 

At the age of twenty-two Toplady received orders 
in the Church of England. He was a strong Calvin- 



178 Sankey's Story 

ist, and the author of many popular hymns. He died 
in 1778. " Rock of Ages " was first published in 1776, 
in " The Gospel Magazine," of which he was the 
editor. The hymn has been more or less altered and 
rearranged several times since then, but the sentiment 
remains the same. 

It was to this hymn that the beloved Prince Con- 
sort, Albert of England, turned, repeating it constantly 
upon his death-bed. " For," said he, " if in this hour 
I had only my worldly honors and dignities to depend 
upon, I should be poor indeed." 

Mrs. L. S. Bainbridge, who, with her husband, vis- 
ited China for the purpose of studying Christian mis- 
sions, tells the following incident : " The Chinese 
women, it seems, are so anxious to ' make merit ' for 
themselves, that they will perform any labor to escape 
the painful transmigrations of the next life. They 
dread to be born again as dogs or cats, and the highest 
hope possessed by them is to be reborn as men. In 
order to secure this they do any and every meritorious 
act. One woman had excavated with her poor, weak 
hands a well twenty feet deep, and it was only after 
this achievement that she learned of the free Gospel 
of salvation. She was now a woman of eighty, and, 
stretching out her aged and crippled fingers, we sang 
together, 

' Nothing in my hand I bring, 
Simply to Thy cross I cling.'" 

Years ago, when a ship sank in the Bay of Biscay, 
a man who was saved was asked what the passengers 



Of the Gospel Hymns 179 

were doing when the ship went down. He said that 
the last he heard was " Rock of Ages," sung by all 
who could join in it. 



Several tunes have been written for this hymn, 
the most popular one, however, being the tune by Dr. 
Thomas Hastings, who was born at Washington, Con- 
necticut, in 1784, and who died in New York in 1872. 
He wrote many hymns and published several hymn- 
books. I have in my possession a large number of 
hymns set to music by Mr. Hastings which have never 
been published. 

Safe in the Arms of Jesus 

Words by Fanny J. Crosby Music by W. H. Doane 

"Safe in the arms of Jesus, 
Safe on His gentle breast." 

Mr. Doane came into a room in New York, once, 
where Fanny Crosby was talking with Mr. Bradbury, 
the father of Sunday-school music, and said to her: 
" Fanny, I have written a tune and I want you to write 
words for it." 

" Let me hear how the tune goes," she replied. 
After Mr. Doane had played it over for her on a small 
organ, she at once exclaimed : " Why, that tune says, 
' Safe in the arms of Jesus,' and I will see what I can 
do about it." 

She at once retired to an adjoining room, where 
she spent half an hour alone. On returning she 
quoted to Mr. Doane the words of this now immortal 



180 Sankeys Story 

hymn. It was first published in the book entitled 
" Songs of Devotion." 

A party of steerage passengers were gathered one 
foggy day below decks on an Allan liner near the en- 
trance of the Belle Isle Straits. They were cold and 
cheerless and weary of the voyage, though only two 
days out, and a lady had come down to talk and sing 
to them. The subject was " Stepping over the line," 
and the song was " Safe in the arms of Jesus." She 
told the story of a young sailor, who was summoned to 
his mother's death-bed. " Willie," said the mother, 
looking up at him with tearful eyes, " sing to me once 
more ' Safe in the arms of Jesus.' " " Mother," he 
replied, " I can't sing that song. It would be a lie ; I 
am not safe, and I can't sing a lie." The speaker said 
that she thanked God that the young sailor afterward 
stepped over the line and was safe. After the story 
was told and a hymn sung, a man suddenly left his 
place among the listeners. The lady was troubled. 
Had she offended him or was his conscience stricken ? 
She watched for him day after day, but a storm suc- 
ceeded the fog, and it was not until the last day of the 
voyage that she saw him again. Then, while the vessel 
was moored in Moville Harbor, and all was bustle on 
deck, the tall Scotchman sought her, saying : 

" Oh, I am so glad that I have found you again ! 
I could not leave without thanking you for those 
words you sang, ' Safe in the arms of Jesus.' I felt 
that I could not sing that hymn, as I was not safe. I 
have been to church all my life, and have taken the 
sacrament ; but I was not safe, and I could not sing it. 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 8 1 

Then came the storm and I was miserable, for I 
thought we might go to the bottom and I should be 
lost." 

" And what did you do then ? " asked the lady. 

" Why, I remembered how you said that we might 
trust the Lord Jesus to save us now — and I did trust 
him right there in my berth. I stepped over the line, 
and now I can praise him, for I am safe in his arms, 
and I wish to live to his glory." 

Two little girls were playing in a corner of the 
nursery with their dolls, and singing as they played, 
" Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe on his gentle breast." 
Their mother was writing, only stopping now and then 
to listen to the little ones' talk, unobserved by them. 

" Sister, how do you know that you are safe ? " 
asked Nellie, the youngest. 

" Because I am holding Jesus with both my hands 
— tight ! " was the reply. 

" Ah, that is not safe," said Nellie. " Suppose 
Satan came along and cut your two hands off ! " 

The sister looked much troubled for a few mo- 
ments, dropped her doll and thought deeply. Sud- 
denly her face shone with joy, and she cried out, " Oh ! 
I forgot ! I forgot ! Jesus is holding me with his two 
hands, and Satan can't cut his hands off ; so I am safe !" 

A party of friends, traveling in the Alps, com- 
menced to sing the first verse of this hymn, when, 
much to their surprise, they heard the second verse 
taken up on another mountain peak, as a response ; and 



1 82 Sankeys Story 

though the two parties of tourists could not see each 
other, they sang the alternate verses and passed on 

their way. 

<*» 

A gentleman of London writes me as follows: 
" My dear little girl Mary, aged six, greatly loved the 
hymn, ' Safe in the arms of Jesus,' and, having learned 
the tune, was continually singing it. One day, having 
a longing, wistful look in her eyes after singing it, I 
said to her : ' What are you thinking of, darling ? ' She 
answered : 'I do want to go and be with Jesus.' I 
asked her what I should do without her, she being my 
only little girl. She sighed and said : ' Very well, then 
I won't go just yet, though I should like to.' A few 
weeks after this she was seized with scarlet fever of 
a very malignant type. She was buried in six days. 
The morning she was taken ill she said to her little 
brother, who was ill in the same room : ' Look here, 
Willie, I can find my own hymn myself now, " Safe in 
the arms of Jesus." ' She showed it to Willie, who 
asked if they should sing it. ' No,' she said, ' I can't 
sing with my head this way.' She then became de- 
lirious and never spoke rationally again. She soon 
took her flight to the arms of Jesus, where she had so 
longed to be." 

At the close of one of our meetings in the Circus 
in Glasgow a woman came to me when I was seated 
with an inquirer. After waiting until I was at liberty, 
she said : " Mr. Sankey, I want to tell you something 
about my daughter Maggie. She was converted when 
you were here eight years ago, but has now gone home 



Of the Gospel Hymns 183 

to heaven, and I want to tell you what she said when 
she was dying. She asked me to get her little hymn- 
book, and when I brought it she asked me to turn to 
No. 25, saying, * I want to sing it.' ' Why, my child,' 
said I, ' you are not able to sing.' ' Yes,' she said, ' I 
want to sing one more song before I go; will you 
please turn to the twenty-fifth hymn, ' Safe in the arms 
of Jesus.' I found it for her and she began to sing 
at these lines, 

'Hark! 'tis the voice of angels, 

Borne in a song to me, 
Over the fields of glory, 

Over the jasper sea.' 

Her voice then seemed to fail her, and she said : 
' Mother, lift me up.' I put my arms under her and 
lifted my poor girl up, and then she raised her eyes 
to heaven and said : ' Jesus, I am coming ; Jesus, I am 
coming.' The doctor, who was standing by her side, 
said : ' How can you sing when you are so weak ? ' She 
replied : ' Jesus helps me to sing ; Jesus helps me to 
sing.' And with those words upon her lips, she died 
in my arms." The mother said that she took the little 
hymn-book and laid it upon the girl's breast; it was 
buried with her. 



Once when laboring in London I went to Basel, 
Switzerland, for a few days' rest. The evening I got 
there I heard under my window the most beautiful 
volume of song. I looked out and saw about fifty 
people, who were singing " Safe in the arms of Jesus, 
safe on his gentle breast " in their own language, but 



184 Sankeys Story 

I recognized the tune. I spoke to them through an 
interpreter. The next evening I held a song service 
in an old French church in that city. The church was 
packed with people, and many stood outside on the 
street. 

Dr. John Hall, of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian 
Church, in New York, said of this hymn, in a great 
Sunday-school convention in Brooklyn, that it gave 
more peace and satisfaction to mothers who had lost 
their children than any other hymn he had ever known. 
It has become very famous throughout the world, and 
was one of the first American hymns to be translated 
into foreign languages. 



Fanny Crosby is one of the most celebrated of 
hymn-writers, and has written more than five thousand 
hymns, many of which have become very widely 
known. She was born in 1820, and lost her eyesight 
when six months old, through the ignorant application 
of a hot poultice to her eyes. In 1835 she entered the 
New York Institution for the Blind, where she was 
graduated in 1842. She was a teacher at this insti- 
tution from 1847 t0 * 858, when she was married to 
Mr. Alexander Van Alstyne, who also was blind. Mrs. 
Van Alstyne has written her hymns under her maiden 
name. 

The Rev. Dr. George Duffield, just before his 
death, said of her work : " I rather think her talent 
will stand beside that of Watts and Wesley, especially 
if we take into consideration the number of hymns 



Of the Gospel Hymns 185 

she has written." At her present age of eighty-five 
she is still active, and she is always happy. 

Saved by Grace 

Words by Fanny J. Crosby Music by George C. Stebbins 

"Some day the silver cord will break, 
And I no more as now shall sing." 

In 1894 Mr. Moody and I were holding meetings 
in England. It was decided between us that Mr. 
Moody should remain in England while I returned to 
America to assist Dr. A. J. Gordon, of Boston, in con- 
ducting the Summer Conference in Northfield. I was 
entertaining Fanny Crosby in my summer home there. 
One evening I asked the popular hymn-writer if she 
would make a short address to her many friends gath- 
ered at the convention. She at first declined, but on 
further persuasion she consented to speak for a few 
moments. I led her forward to the desk on which lay 
the Bible and, standing there, she spoke beautifully 
for a short time. Closing her remarks, she recited a 
hymn never before heard in public, entitled " Saved by 
Grace." 

I afterward learned that my friend, L. H. Biglow 
— after attending a prayer-meeting conducted by the 
late Dr. Howard Crosby, where the subject was 
" Grace " — had asked Fanny Crosby to write a hymn 
on that subject. She immediately retired to an adjoin- 
ing room, and in the course of an hour returned with 
the words, ' Some day the silver cord will break, and 
I no more as now shall sing.' Mr. Biglow secured 
the words from her, and put them in the safe among 
other hymns which she had written ; but the song was 



1 86 Sankey's Story 

evidently forgotten until recited by its author at 
Northfield. 

A reporter of a London paper who was present 
at Northfield took her address, and also the hymn, 
which he carried back to England and published 
in his paper, thus sending it around the world. Four 
or five weeks later I found it in a copy of his paper. 
Cutting it out, I handed it to George C. Stebbins, ask- 
ing him to set it to music. During the following years 
the song became one of Mr. Moody's favorites, and is 
now sung by hundreds of thousands of people through- 
out the world. 

A newspaper of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, recently 
gave this incident in startling headlines : 

" The congregation of Christ Protestant Episco- 
pal Church, Union Avenue, Allegheny, the Rev. Rob- 
ert Meech, rector, was startled yesterday morning by a 
sensational supplement to the morning service. The 
church was well filled and devout worshipers responded 
to the service as read by the rector. The reading had 
been concluded, and the rector was about to make the 
usual announcements of future services when an inci- 
dent occurred such as old Christ Church had never 
dreamed of. Out of the usual line in a church of this 
denomination, it was nevertheless marked in its effect, 
and will never be forgotten by those present. 

In the fourth pew from the front aisle of the 
church sat a neatly-dressed woman of intellectual face, 
apparently about thirty years of age. Her presence 
as a stranger had been noticed by many, and her deep, 
tearful interest in the service had been quietly com- 



Of the Gospel Hymns 187 

merited on by those who occupied the adjoining pews. 
At the point mentioned she rose to her feet and, strug- 
gling with emotion, began to speak. The startled con- 
gregation was all attention, and she was allowed to 
proceed. Rapidly and eloquently she told of her going 
out from the church and of her return to it. In 
graphic words she painted the hideousness of sin and 
the joys of a pure life, and as she spoke men and 
women gave way to their emotions and listened breath- 
lessly to the end of the narration. 

" I was christened in this church," she said, " and 
attended Sunday-school in the basement when good 
old Dr. Paige was rector. My mother was a devout 
member here, and taught me the right way. At the 
age of fifteen I deserted my home and married an actor. 
For a number of years I followed the profession, lead- 
ing such a life as naturally accompanies it. In dra- 
matic circles, in variety business, and in the circus, I 
spent those godless years. 

" About two years ago I was in the city of Chi- 
cago. One afternoon I was on my way to Ferris 
Wheel Park to spend the afternoon in revelry, when 
I happened on the open-air meeting which the Epworth 
League of Grace Methodist Episcopal Church was con- 
ducting on North Park Street. I stopped through 
curiosity, as I believed, to listen ; but I know now that 
God arrested my footsteps there. They were singing 
' Saved by Grace,' and the melody impressed me. 
Recollections of my childhood days came trooping 
into my soul, and I remembered that in all the years 
of my absence my mother, until her death nine years 
ago, had been praying for me. 



1 88 Sankeys Story 

" I was converted and, falling on my knees on the 
curbstone, I asked the Father's pardon. Then and 
there I received it, and I left the place with a peace 
which has never forsaken me. I gave up my business 
at once and have lived for his service ever since. I 
have been but a few days in this city. Last night I 
visited the Hope Mission, and the Lord told me I must 
come here and testify what he had done for me. I 
have not been in this building for many years, but it 
seems only yesterday that I left it. I have been sit- 
ting in the pew directly opposite the one once occupied 
by my mother and myself, and I feel her presence to- 
day. I could not resist the impulse to give this testi- 
mony. The Lord sent me here." 

The congregation was profoundly impressed. The 
rector descended from the chancel and, approaching 
the speaker, with tears in his eyes, bade her Godspeed. 
The service went on. At its conclusion many mem- 
bers of the congregation shook hands with the stranger 
and told of their impressions. A stranger might have 
imagined himself in a Methodist Episcopal church, so 
intense was the feeling. The strange visitor departed 
with a sense of duty done. All she said was : " I feel 
that the Lord Jesus and mother have been here." 

Saviour, More than Life 

Words by Fanny J. Crosby Music by W. H. Doane 

"Saviour, more than life to me, 
I am clinging, clinging close to Thee." 

Tune preceded words in this instance. It was in 
1875 that Mr. Doane sent the tune to Fanny Crosby, 
and requested her to write a hymn entitled " Every 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 89 

day and hour." Her response in the form of this hymn 
gave the blind hymn-writer great comfort and filled 
her heart with joy. She felt sure that God would 
bless the hymn to many hearts. Her hope has been 
most fully verified, for millions have been refreshed 
and strengthened as they have sung it. At the sug- 
gestion of Mr. D. W. McWilliams, who was superin- 
tendent of Dr. Cuyler's Sunday-school for twenty-five 
years, it was put into "Gospel Hymns." 



Scatter Seeds of Kindness 

Words by Mrs. Albert Smith Music by S. J. Vail 



"Let us gather up the sunbeams, 
Lying all around our path." 



For many years this was the favorite hymn of 
Francis Murphy, the great temperance lecturer, and 
was the keynote of all his meetings. I had the pleas- 
ure of attending many of his services in Chicago, and 
have seen him move an audience to tears by his pa- 
thetic rendering of this hymn. It is believed that thou- 
sands of drinking men have been saved through its 
instrumentality. 

I had the pleasure of meeting the author of this 
hymn in Illinois in 1878, and was surprised to learn 
that she herself was childless, — although very fond of 
children, as shown in the tender expressions in the 
latter portion of the hymn : 

" How those little hands remind us, 
As in snowy grace they lie, 
Not to scatter thorns — but roses — 
For our reaping by and by." 



190 Sankey's Story 

Shall We Meet ? 

Words by Horace L. Hastings Music by Elihu S. Rice 

"Shall we meet beyond the river, 
Where the surges cease to roll?" 

While secretary and chorister of the Baptist Sun- 
day-school at Logansport, Mr. Rice composed the 
music of this song and sent it to the Rev. Robert 
Lowry, then editor of the musical department of the 
" Young Reaper," a Sunday-school paper published in 
Philadelphia. It was accepted and first published in 
that periodical. Years passed before the composer 
realized its popularity. 

"The first notice I received," he says, "of the 
favorable reception of ' Shall we meet ' by the musical 
public was from Mr. Sankey, in a very kind letter writ- 
ten in August, 1879, thirteen years after its first pub- 
lication. While music has been written for those 
words by a number of eminent musical composers, I 
have the satisfaction of knowing that my music has 
received the choice and approval of Mr. Hastings, the 
author of the words." 

Shall You ? Shall I ? 

Words by James McGranahan Music by James McGranahan 

"Some one will enter the pearly gate 
By and by, by and by." 

An active minister in the West in his boyhood 
attended our meetings in Madison Square Garden, and 
he says that his soul was thrilled by the singing there. 
He writes to me, also, of this personal experience : " I 
was passing through a town where I was known. At 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 9 1 

the close of a service which I had attended the min- 
ister asked me to sing a solo. Picking up ' Gospel 
Hymns,' I sang, 

" Some one will enter the pearly gate — 
By and by, by and by. . . . 
Shall you? Shall I?" 

In the audience was a well-educated man, clearly 
under the influence of liquor. He afterward said that 
he forgot or failed to hear the very able sermon. But 
he heard the song ; and for days after ' Shall you ? 
Shall I ? ' kept ringing in his ears, until he finally had 
to give his heart to God. He is now a faithful min- 
ister in the Methodist church." 

Singing All the Time 

Words by E. P. Hammond Music by George C. Stebbins 



' I feel like singing all the time, 
My tears are wiped away." 



" One day in a children's meeting in Utica, New 
York," the Rev. E. P. Hammond writes me, " while I 
was explaining how Jesus loved us and gave himself 
for us, I noticed a bright-looking girl bursting into 
tears. She remained at the inquiry-meeting, and with 
others was soon happy in the love of Christ. The next 
day she handed me a letter of which this is a part : ' I 
think I have found the dear Jesus, and I do not see 
how I could have rejected him so long. I think I can 
sing with the rest of those who have found him, Jesus 
is mine. The first time I came to the meetings I cried, 
but now I feel like singing all the time.' This prompted 
me to write the hymn, but I had no thought of its ever 



192 San key's Story 

being sung, although it almost seemed as if I could 
hear her singing: 

' I feel like singing all the time, 

My tears are wiped away, 

For Jesus is a friend of mine, 

I'll serve him every day.' 

" Mr. Spurgeon was very fond of this hymn. At 
the first meeting in his building one of his deacons said 
to me, ' This Tabernacle will seat six thousand grown 
people, but there are eight thousand crowded into it 
to-day.' Three thousand could not get in on account 
of the crowd. Every child had one of our hymn-books, 
and all united in singing this hymn which they loved 
so much. It has been sung in our meetings in nearly 
every state in the Union, and translated into many lan- 
guages. We sang it in our daily meetings in Jerusa- 
lem, near where Christ was crucified, and away in 
Alaska, two thousand miles north of San Francisco. 
Thousands of children sang it in Norway and Sweden, 
day after day. 

" A little boy, who felt himself a great sinner in 
not having loved Jesus, was led by God's spirit to 
believe, and his burden was gone. Bright smiles took 
the place of tears, and with the happy throng he was 
soon joining in the song, ' I feel like singing all the 
time.' Little did I then think that years afterward I 
would find that same boy the pastor of a large church 
in Minneapolis, rejoicing that so many of his own 
Sunday-school were able to join in the same hymn 
which he sang when his heart was filled with a new- 
found love for Christ. It was largely through his in- 
fluence that during one week of our meetings in Min- 



Of the Gospel Hymns 193 

neapolis, last spring, about seven hundred confessed 
conversion. I received in one day at Newark, New 
Jersey, more than two hundred letters from those who 
had just professed to have found Christ in our meet- 
ings. Many of those young converts, in giving what 
they believed to be the story of their conversion, often 
put in the words, ' Now I feel like singing all the 
time.' " 

Something for Jesus 

Words by S. D. Phelps Music by Robert Lowry 

"Saviour! Thy dying love 
Thou gavest me." 

Professor W. F. Sherwin was holding a Sunday- 
school institute in Maine on one occasion. This hymn 
was used in the exercises, and a young lawyer was so 
much affected by the singing of the third verse that 
it was the means of changing all his plans for life. He 
consecrated himself to Christ's service, and thereafter 
devoted himself with his whole heart to evangelistic 

work. 

■^ 

" A large family joined my church lately," says a 
minister in Glasgow. " The mother told me that, while 
a stranger in the city, she had happened to drop into 
our chapel, when she was quite overcome. Her heart 
was lifted up as the people sang, ' Saviour ! Thy dying 
love.' " 

Now famous in many lands, this hymn was first 
published more than forty years ago in the " Watch- 



194 Sankey's Story 

man and Reflector," and from there it was copied by 
various other religious papers. Dr. Robert Lowry re- 
quested the author, the Rev. Mr. Phelps, to furnish 
some hymns for the hymn-book, " Pure Gold," which 
he and \V. H. Doane were preparing, and among others 
which Mr. Phelps contributed was " Saviour ! Thy 
dying love." Dr. Lowry composed for it the tune with 
which it will always be associated. On the author's 
seventieth birthday — nine years before his death in 
1895 — ^ r - Phelps received this congratulation from 
Dr. Lowry: 

" It is worth living seventy years, even if nothing 
comes of it but one such hymn as ' Saviour ! Thy dying 
love.' Happy is the man who can produce one song 
which the world will keep on singing after its author 
shall have passed away." 

Sometime We'll Understand 

Words by Maxwell N. Cornelius, D.D. Music by James McGranahan 

"Not now, but in the coming years, 
It may be in the better land." 

Mr. Cornelius was brought up on a farm in my 
own county in Pennsylvania. He left farming when 
he came of age, and learned the trade of a brick-mason. 
Later he became a contractor in Pittsburg. In erecting 
a house in that city his leg was broken. The physi- 
cians decided that it would have to be amputated, and 
they gave him a week in which to get ready for the 
crdeal. My own physician was sent for to assist at 
the operation. When the day arrived the young man 
said that he was ready, but asked for his violin, that 
he might plav one more tune — perhaps the last one he 



Of the Gospel Hymns 195 

would ever play. Whatever the tune was, the melody 
was so sweet that it caused even the physicians to 
weep. He stood the operation well and came out 
safely, but was maimed for life. He now decided to 
go to college and get an education. After passing 
through college with honor he concluded to become a 
minister of the gospel. His first charge was at Al- 
toona, Pennsylvania, but on account of his wife's health 
he soon removed to California, locating at Pasa- 
dena, where he built the largest Presbyterian church 
in that place. Many who had subscribed to help to 
pay for the building failed in business, and he was 
left to meet the obligations as best he could. But in 
a few years he had the church cleared from all debt. 
Shortly afterward his wife died. He preached the 
funeral sermon himself. At the conclusion he quoted 
the words of this hymn, which he had composed 
shortly before. Both the words of the hymn and the 
sermon were printed in a Western newspaper, where 
Major Whittle found them. Impressed by their 
beauty, he cut them out and carried them in his Bible 
for three months before he wrote the chorus : 

"Then trust in God through all thy days; 
Fear not! for He doth hold thy hand; 
Though dark thy way, still sing and praise; 
Sometime, sometime we'll understand." 

Soon after he handed the words to his friend, 
James McGranahan, who composed the tune to which 
the hymn is now sung. 

While Mr. Moody and I were holding meetings in 
the great Convention Hall in Washington, in 1894, one 



1 96 Sankeys Story 

evening he requested me to go to an overflow meeting 
in the Second Presbyterian Church. I sang " Some- 
time We'll Understand " as a solo, and I told how 
Major Whittle had found it. At the conclusion of the 
meeting a lady came forward to the platform, and said 
" That hymn was written by my pastor ;" and for the 
first time I learned who had written the beautiful words 
of the hymn I loved so much. A year or two later I 
sang this hymn in the Church of the Covenant in 
Washington. The late Secretary of State, John Hay, 
was present. He was much moved by the song, and 
at the conclusion of the service came forward and 
thanked me. While we were talking a young lady 
with her husband came up to me and said that she was 
the daughter of Dr. Cornelius, the author of the hymn, 
and hoped that God would continually bless my singing 
of the song. 

At one of our crowded meetings in the Free As- 
sembly Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland, Mr. Moody called 
to the platform Lord Overtoun, who changed the meet- 
ing into a memorial service for the Prince of Wales' 
eldest son, the Duke of Clarence, who had recently 
died in England. After a number of addresses had 
been made by ministers and others, Lord Overtoun 
asked a member of my choir, Miss Jane Darling, if she 
had any song suitable to the occasion. I had gone to 
Dunfermline to commence meetings there. Miss Dar- 
ling took her seat at my little organ and sung in the 
most touching and pathetic manner the hymn, " Some- 
time We'll Understand." At the conclusion of the 
meeting Lord Overtoun sent a dispatch to the Princess 
of Wales, including in the message three of the verses 



Of the Gospel Hymns 197 

of the hymn. The same evening he received a dispatch 
from the Princess, thanking him for the verses. A 
few days later Miss Darling had the hymn beautifully 
engrossed upon parchment and forwarded it to the 
Princess. 

Stand Up for Jesus 

Words by George Duffield Music by G. J. Webb 

"Stand up! stand up for Jesus! 
Ye soldiers of the cross." 

In the " Great Work of God " of 1858, in Phila- 
delphia, the Rev. Dudley Tyng was the recognized 
leader. While standing by a piece of farm machinery 
on his place, the sleeve of his coat became entangled 
in the gearing. His arm was drawn into the machin- 
ery and torn off, and he died soon after. In the prime 
of his life he was taken away from the direction of that 
great revival movement. But his dying message to his 
associates in the work, " Stand up for Jesus," supplied 
the theme for this hymn. It was written by the Rev. 
George Duffield, and was read at the close of a sermon 
which he delivered on the Sunday following the death 
of his friend. Set to the tune composed by Mr. Webb, 
this hymn has become famous and useful. 

Substitution 

Words by Mrs. A. R. Cousin Music by Ira D. Sankey 

"O Christ, what burdens bowed Thy head! 
Our load was laid on Thee." 

Written in Melrose, Scotland, by the author of 
the immortal poem, " Immanuel's Land," this hymn 
was sent to me by a minister in Dublin ; and in the let- 



198 Sankeys Story 

ter conveying the verses he remarked : " It is said of 
you that you sing the Gospel, and I am sure that if 
you will sing the enclosed there will be no question 
as to the truth of that assertion." I then wrote the 
music and sang it in one of Mr. Moody's meetings, 
where it was blessed to the saving of two persons the 
first time it was sung, according to their own testimony. 
<^ 

A young officer in the British army turned away 
in horror from the doctrine of this hymn. His pride 
revolted, his self-righteousness rose in rebellion, and 
he said : " He would be a coward indeed who would 
go to heaven at the cost of another! " As the years 
rolled away this man rose to distinction and high rank 
in the army, and he also learned wisdom. In his last 
hours, as he lay on his death-bed, he repeatedly begged 
those near him to sing " O Christ, what burdens 
bowed Thy head ;" calling it, " My hymn, my hymn ! " 

A gunner of the royal artillery was attending the 
Old Soldiers' Home in Woolwich during the spring of 
1886. The chief attraction to him at first was the 
night-school. From this he was eventually led to join 
the Bible-class and attend the Sunday evening service 
in the Hall. Seeing that he looked very unhappy and 
that he lingered after the meeting, one night, a worker 
asked him if anything was troubling him. The tears 
came to his eyes at once, and he said : " I want to be a 
Christian, but I am afraid that I am too bad." He then 
told how on the previous Sunday evening, when this 
hymn was sung, he was so overpowered by the 
thought of what the Lord had endured for our sins 



Of the Gospel Hymns 1 99 

that after the first verse he could not sing. The solemn 
words were fixed in his memory, and had troubled him 
all the week, until he came to the great Burden-bearer. 

Sweet By-and-By 

Words by S. Fillmore Bennett Music by Joseph P Webster 

"There's a land that is fairer than day, 
And by faith we can see it afar." 

Mr. Bennett, the author of this world-famed hymn, 
has this to say about its origin : 

" In 1861 I became a resident of the village of 
Elkhorn, Wisconsin, the home of the composer, J. P. 
Webster ; and shortly after became associated with 
him in the production of sheet music (songs) and other 
musical works. In the summer or fall of the year 
1867 we commenced work on ' The Signet Ring.' One 
of the songs written for that book was ' Sweet By- 
and-By." Mr. Webster, like many musicians, was of 
an exceedingly nervous and sensitive nature, and sub- 
ject to periods of depression, in which he looked upon 
the dark side of all things in life. I had learned his 
peculiarities so well that on meeting him I could tell 
at a glance if he was in one of his melancholy moods, 
and I found that I could rouse him from them by giv- 
ing him a new song or hymn to work on. On such an 
occasion he came into my place of business, walked 
down to the stove, and turned his back to me without 
speaking. I was at my desk writing. Presently I 
said : 

" ' Webster, what is the matter now? ' 

" ' It is no matter,' he replied ; ' it will be all right 
by and by ! ' 



200 Sankey's Story 

" The idea of the hymn came to me like a flash of 
sunlight, and I replied : ' The sweet by and by ! Would 
that not make a good hymn ? " 

" ' Maybe it would/ said he indifferently. 

" Turning to the desk I penned the three verses 
and the chorus as fast as I could write. In the mean- 
time two friends, Mr. N. H. Carswell and Mr. S. E. 
Bright, had come in. I handed the hymn to Mr. Web- 
ster. As he read it his eye kindled, and his whole de- 
meanor changed. Stepping to the desk, he began 
writing the notes in a moment. Presently he re- 
quested Mr. Bright to hand him his violin, and then 
he played the melody. In a few moments more he 
had the notes for the four parts of the chorus jotted 
down. I think it was not over thirty minutes from 
the time I took my pen to write the words before the 
two gentlemen, Mr. Webster and I were singing the 
hymn in the same form in which it afterward appeared 
in 'The Signet Ring.' While singing it Mr. R. R. 
Crosby came in. After listening awhile, with tears in 
his eyes, he uttered the prediction : ' That hymn is 
immortal.' I think it was used in public shortly after, 
for within two weeks children on the streets were sing- 
ing it." 

" Next year the publishers of ' The Signet Ring ' 
heralded its advent by distributing a large number of 
circulars upon which selections from the work were 
printed, among them ' Sweet By-and-By.' These cir- 
culars first brought the hymn to the notice of the pub- 
lic, and created the principal demand for the book. 
Toward the close of that year the hymn was published 
in sheet-music form. It is now in numerous collec- 



Of the Gospel Hymns 201 

tions of vocal music in America, and, as a newspaper 
account says, ' It is translated into various foreign 
languages and sung in every land under the sun.' 

" Webster, Crosby and Carswell are dead. S. E. 
Bright, of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, and myself are 
the only remaining living witnesses to the birth of 
4 Sweet By-and-By.' " 

Sweet Peace, the Gift of God's Love 

Words by Peter P. Bilhorn Music by Peter P. Bilhorn 

"There comes to my heart one sweet strain, 
A glad and a joyous refrain." 

The author of this well-known and popular hymn, 
a gifted evangelist and Gospel singer, was born in 
Mendota, Illinois, in 1861. His father was killed near 
the close of the war, and at eight years of age he had 
to leave school to help his mother. Though the edu- 
cation of books was thus denied him, yet through won- 
derful ways of Providence he has been able to read 
in the great book of human nature, and his knowledge 
of men is as great as his influence and power for good 
over them. At the age of fifteen he moved with his 
family to Chicago, where his voice was a great attrac- 
tion in concert-halls and among worldly comrades. 
He was standing by a piano in a German concert-hall, 
one day in 1881, when a Christian worker entered and 
persuaded him to attend one of the revival meetings 
in Mr. Moody's church being conducted by Dr. Pen- 
tecost and Mr. Stebbins. He was interested, and for 
twelve nights he attended regularly. On the twelfth 
night he heard a sermon from the words, " Christ hath 
redeemed us," and he gave his heart to God. Shortly 



202 Sankeys Story 

afterward he engaged in mission work in all parts of 
Chicago, wherever and whenever he could make him- 
self useful, at the same time studying music under Pro- 
fessor George F. Root. After two years he went to 
work among the cowboys in the West, where he had 
many thrilling experiences. Since then Mr. Bilhorn 
has devoted his talents entirely to the work of singing 
the Gospel, and to-day he is ranked among the leaders 
of evangelistic work in song. 

Take Me as I Am 

Words by Eliza H. Hamilton Music by Ira D. Sankey 

"Jesus, my Lord, to Thee I cry; 
Unless Thou help me I must die." 

Years ago, while revival meetings were being 
held in one of the large towns in Scotland, a young 
girl became anxious about her spiritual condition. Re- 
turning from one of the meetings, she went to her 
own minister and asked him how she might be saved. 

" Ah, lassie," he said, " don't be alarmed ! Just 
read your Bible and say your prayers, and you will 
be all right." 

But the poor, illiterate girl cried out : " O Min- 
ister, I canna read, I canna pray! Lord Jesus, take 
me as I am ! " 

In this way the girl became a follower of Christ ; 
and a lady who heard of the girl's experience wrote 
this hymn, " Take Me as I Am." I found the verses 
in a religious newspaper, and set them to the simple 
music by which they are now most generally known. 
At the same time Mr. Stebbins also found the verses 
and set them to music, and he sent them to me at the 



Of the Gospel Hymns 203 

same time that I was sending my tune for the same 
words to him. In " Gospel Hymns " both tunes are 
published. 

A minister in England writes to me about a Chris- 
tian woman, a shoemaker's wife, who had a lodger that 
was an obstinate unbeliever. " The good woman often 
tried to induce him to go to meetings, but in vain. 
Tracts which she placed on the table in his room she 
found crushed on the floor. She would smooth them 
out and again place them so as to attract his attention, 
but he would read nothing but his novels and news- 
papers. One spring the old man fell ill with bron- 
chitis. The good woman acted as his nurse, for he 
had no relatives who cared for him. She used the 
opportunity, often speaking to him about his soul and 
reading the Word of God ; but she could make no im- 
pression upon him. One day she was reading the 
hymn ' Jesus, my Lord, to Thee I cry,' and when she 
came to the refrain, the old man called out to her 
sharply : ' That's not in the book ! ' The woman an- 
swered, ' Why, yes, it is.' He declared again that he 
did not believe it was in the book. The good woman 
told him that he could read it for himself. He asked 
for his glasses, and read with wonder and amazement, 
again and again, ' My only plea — Christ died for me ! 
oh, take me as I am.' A few weeks afterward he said 
to the woman one morning, ' I am going home to-day, 
and I am so happy, so happy ! In an hour or two he 
passed away, repeating these words to the last." 
<^ 

" One afternoon when visiting the Royal Infirm- 



204 Sankeys Story 

ary," a missionary in England writes, " I found a 
young girl very ill and without any prospect of recov- 
ery. I sat down by her and read the hymn, ' Jesus, 
my Lord, to Thee I cry.' She listened very attentively, 
but I did not know until the following week, when I 
visited her again, what a deep impression it had made 
upon her. On this second occasion I was told that 
she was much worse. Hearing I was there, she asked 
her mother to tell me that she wanted very much to 
see me. When I went to her she leaned forward and, 
with an eagerness which surprised me, repeated the 
words : ' My only plea — Christ died for me ! Oh, take 
me as I am.' These comforting lines had been con- 
stantly on her lips during this last week of her life. 
That night the Lord took her home." 

A party of policemen had gathered in a drawing- 
room in the West End of London. One was there 
who had been persuaded by his Christian comrades to 
attend for the first time a meeting of The Christian 
Policemen's Association. He went unwillingly and 
rather late, and did not expect to care for the meeting. 
But soon after he had entered the room a lady, Miss 
Beauchamp, sang " Take me as I am " as a solo. The 
repeated refrain set him to thinking. As he was? He 
had led a rough life, first as a blue-jacket and then as 
a policeman. He could not well be more wretched and 
miserable than he was that night, with a load of sins 
upon him and a dark, dreary future to look forward to. 
He had never thought that Jesus would take him as he 
was. He had always thought that he must be much 
better first, and had often tried to make himself better; 



Of the Gospel Hymns 205 

but it had been a miserable failure. Now the words, 
" Take me as I am," sounded over and over again in 
his ears, and in his heart he repeated them, " Lord, 
take me as I am." He left before the end of the meet- 
ing, and so it was not until the following month that 
his friends heard of the great change that had come 
over him. Since that time his delight has been to 
proclaim the love of God as opportunity offered, on 
the street or to his comrades, seeking to turn other 
lost ones to the path of life. 
<^ 
While Mr. Moody and I were holding meetings 
at Plymouth, England, Professor Henry Drummond, 
who was assisting us, became very much interested in 
an infidel who came to the services — laboring with 
him for several days and visiting him in his home, 
twenty miles distant, but making no impression on 
him. Near the close of the mission the infidel came 
again. On reaching the building, which was located 
inside the barrack grounds, he found the door closed 
and the building full. And while he was standing on 
the green sward outside he heard the choir sing " Take 
me as I am." He told Professor Drummond after- 
ward that God used this simple hymn to lead him into 
the Shepherd's fold. 

Tell It Out 

Words by Frances R. Havergal Music by Ira D. Sankey 

"Tell it out among the nations that the Lord is King; 
Tell it out! Tell it out!" 

Miss Havergal's sister Maria bears record that 
this hymn was written in England in 1872, when the 
author was unable to go to church one snowy morning. 



206 Sankeys Story 

She asked for her prayer-book, always liking to follow 
the services of the day. On the return of her brother- 
in-law, Mr. Shaw, from church, he heard her touch 
upon the piano. 

" Why, Frances, I thought you were upstairs ! I 
" Yes, but I had my prayer-book ; and in the 
Psalms for to-day I read, " Tell it out among the 
heathen that the Lord is king.' I thought, ' What a 
splendid first line ! ' and then words and music came 
rushing in to me. There ! it's all written out." 

I found Miss Havergal's tune rather difficult to 
sing, and therefore arranged the one which is now 
found in " Gospel Hymns," in " Sacred Songs and 
Solos," and in the new Methodist Episcopal hymnal. 

Tell Me the Old, Old Story 

Words by Miss Kate Hankey Music by W. H. Doane 

" Tell me the old, old story, 
Of unseen things above." 

This excellent hymn by Miss Hankey, of London, 
has been translated into many languages, and has been 
set to several tunes. Dr. Doane has this to say re- 
garding the music by which it has become popular, 
and the occasion on which he composed it : " In 1867 
I was attending the International Convention of the 
Young Men's Christian Association, in Montreal. 
Among those present was Major-General Russell, then 
in command of the English forces during the Fenian 
excitement. He arose in the meeting and recited the 
words of this song from a sheet of foolscap paper — 
tears streaming down his bronzed cheeks as he read. 
I wrote the music for the song one hot afternoon while 






Of the Gospel Hymns 207 

on the stage-coach between the Glen Falls House and 
the Crawford House in the White Mountains. That 
evening we sung it in the parlors of the hotel. We 
thought it pretty, although we scarcely anticipated the 
popularity which was subsequently accorded it." 

That Will be Heaven for Me 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by James McGranahan 

" I know not the hour when my Lord will come 
To take me away to His own dear home." 

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps' " The Gates Ajar," 
which aroused so much criticism a generation ago, 
suggested to Mr. Bliss the need of this hymn. The 
Scripture teaching that we shall be " with the Lord " 
he deemed sufficient for spiritual contentment, off- 
setting the " I know not " of speculation by the " I 
know " of faith. Mr. McGranahan was visiting Mr. 
Bliss at that time. Bliss handed the words to him, 
asking what he could get for a tune. McGranahan 
worked upon it a long time without success, making 
harmonies and trying to satisfy himself with some- 
thing that would properly express the words. When 
supper-time came he did not care to eat. At bedtime 
they all went to their rooms, leaving him in the parlor 
at the piano. Finally, dissatisfied with the result, he 
threw himself on the floor and fell into a doze. Sud- 
denly he awoke, and the tune, chorus and all, had 
come — different from the harmonies he had worked 
upon. When he sang it to Bliss in the morning he was 
delighted with it, and immediately adopted it for use. 
*^> 

A wealthy Quaker lady heard this hymn in 



208 Sankeys Story 

Newcastle-on-Tyne, sung in connection with Mr. 
Moody's lecture upon " Heaven." She was so much 
impressed by it that she went home and induced her 
husband to attend the meetings. She soon became one 
of the most successful workers in our subsequent meet- 
ings there and in London, taking lodgings near so as 
to more efficiently work in the inquiry-meetings. 

At the time Mr. Bliss and his wife were lost in the 
railroad accident at Ashtabula I was living in a hotel 
in Chicago. I had engaged a room near mine for 
him, and was awaiting his arrival, when a friend came 
into my room and, putting his hand on my shoulder, 
said, " Bliss is dead." The next Sunday we held a 
great memorial service in the Tabernacle, to give ex- 
pression to our sorrow. While I was singing " That 
will be Heaven for Me " as a solo, the two small 
crowns of flowers which had been placed in front of the 
organ on the platform were taken away, as it was dis- 
covered that their two little children, Paul and George, 
who were supposed to have been lost with their par- 
ents, had been left at home at Towanda, Pennsylvania, 
and were safe. 

The Child of a King 

Words by Hattie E. Buell Music by John B. Sumner 

" My Father is rich in houses and lands, 
He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands!" 

Mr. Peter P. Bilhorn relates the following inci- 
dent in connection with this hymn, which happened 
when he was engaged in evangelistic work among the 
cowboys in the West, in 1883. " We had started up 



Of the Gospel Hymns 209 

the Missouri River for Bismarck, and on Sunday we 
stopped at a new town, named Blunt, to unload some 
freight. A crowd of men and boys came down to the 
wharf. I took my little organ, went on the wharf- 
boat, and sang a few songs — among others the glorious 
hymn, ' I'm the child of a King.' I thought noth- 
ing more of the occasion until long afterward, when 
I sang the same song in Mr. Moody's church in Chi- 
cago. Then a man in the back part of the house arose, 
and said in a trembling voice : ' Two years ago I heard 
that song at Blunt, Dakota; I was then an unsaved 
man, but that song set me to thinking, and I decided 
to accept Christ, and I am now studying for the 
ministry.' " 

The Christian's " Good- Night " 

Words by Sarah Doudney Music by Ira D. Sankey 

'' Sleep on, beloved, sleep, and take thy rest; 
Lay down thy head upon thy Saviour's breast." 

Each member of the Masonic Quartet of Pitts- 
burgh recently received a check and a note of thanks 
for singing at the funeral of Captain S. S. Brown. 
An unusual story was also made public thereby. "In 
the last hours of the turf king's life," one of the daily 
papers says, " he had an interval in which his mind 
was clear. He called his daughter-in-law and asked 
if she would take on herself the task of seeing that 
' The Christian's Good-night ' was sung at his funeral ; 
and he told her, in a disjointed way, of a dream from 
which he had just awakened. He had thought him- 
self dead, and there were four ministers taking part 
in his funeral. He named the ministers and said that 



210 Sankey's Story 

one of them had broken down while making an ad- 
dress, and that another, naming this minister also, had 
taken up the address. Captain Brown said that he 
awoke as all were singing ' The Christian's Good- 
night,' and that he had joined with them in the sing- 
ing. The dying man smiled faintly at the picture 
he drew, but begged his daughter-in-law to remember 
her promise." 

The words of this hymn were occasioned by the 
death of a friend. They were handed to me at Bris- 
tol, England. I wrote the music soon afterward, and 
sang it at the funeral of Charles H. Spurgeon, the 
great London preacher. It has since become very 
useful on two continents as a funeral hymn. 

The Cross of Jesus 

Words by Elizabeth Clephane Music by Ira D. Sankey 

" Beneath the cross of Jesus 
I fain would take my stand." 

I composed the music to this hymn in the home 
of my dear friend, Dr. Thomas Barnardo, whose 
death is announced through the public press just at 
the time I am writing this note. The author of the 
hymn, Elizabeth Clephane, also wrote the widely- 
known hymn, " The Ninety and Nine," and these two 
were her only hymns. 

The first time this hymn was sung is still fresh 
in my memory. The morning after I had composed 
the music the Rev. W. H. Aitkin was to speak at our 
mission in the great Bow Road Hall, in London, Mr. 
Moody having made an arrangement to speak at Her 
Majesty's Theater. It was a lovely morning, and a 



Of the Gospel Hymns 2 1 1 

great gathering had assembled at the meeting, which 
was held at eight o'clock. Before the sermon I sang 
" Beneath the cross of Jesus " as a solo ; and as in the 
case of "The Ninety and. Nine," much blessing came 
from its use for the first time. With eyes filled with 
tears, and deeply moved, the preacher said to the audi- 
ence : "Dear friends, I had intended to speak to you 
this morning upon work for the Master, but this new 
hymn has made such an impression on my heart, and 
evidently upon your own, that I will defer my proposed 
address and speak to you on ' The Cross of Jesus.' " 
The sermon was one of the most powerful I have ever 
heard, and many souls that morning accepted the mes- 
sage of grace and love. Some years later Mr. Aitkin 
held many successful meetings in New York and other 
cities in this country, and he often used this hymn as a 
solo. 

An odd incident occurred in connection with Mr. 
Aitkin's use of this hymn in St. Paul's Church, at 
Broadway and Wall street, the money center of 
America. A gentleman, having heard this piece sung 
frequently by great congregations of business men 
and Wall street brokers in St. Paul's Church, called 
upon the publishers of the small book of words which 
had been distributed in the church, and said that he 
'* wished to secure that beautiful English tune which 
Mr. Aitkin used so much in his meetings." When he 
was told that he could find it in any copy of " Gospel 
Hymns " he became quite indignant, and insisted that 
it was a fine classic which the great preacher had 
brought with him from England — nothing like the 
Moody and Sankey trash ! Having secured a copy 



212 Sankeys Story 

of Mr. Aitkin's hymn-book containing the " fine Eng- 
lish tune " to the beautiful words of " Beneath the 
cross of Jesus," he went away happy, but only to find 
that it was written by the author of the music to " The 
Ninety and Nine." 

The Gate Ajar for Me 

Words by Mrs. Lydia Baxter Music by S. J. Vai 

" There is a gate that stands ajar, 
And through its portals gleaming." 

Mrs. Lydia Baxter, born in Petersburg, New 
York, in 1809, was an invalid for many years. But 
her interest in the religious welfare of those around 
her was manifested in many ways. She wrote " There 
is a gate that stands ajar " about three years before 
her death in New York City in 1874, when she was 
considerably past the sixty-year mark. 

In our meetings in Great Britain, 1873-74, this 
hymn was much used. It was sung at the watch-night 
service in 1873, the night before New Year's, in the 
Free Assembly Hall of Edinburgh. A young lady 
who was present — Maggie Lindsay, of Aberdeen, 
Scotland — was much impressed by the hymn, and 
those seated by her side heard her exclaim, "O, heav- 
enly Father, is it true that the gate is standing ajar 
for me? If it is so, I will go in." That night she 
became a disciple of the Lord Jesus. The next day 
she called on her pastor, the Rev. J. H. Wilson, min- 
ister of the Barclay Church, and told him of her de- 
cision. He was greatly pleased, and advised her to 
tell her school companions of her experience. This 



Of the Gospel Hymns 2 1 3 

she did, and succeeded in leading several of them into 
the light. Scarcely a month later, on January 28, 
Maggie took a train for her home, but she never 
reached there alive. At Manual Junction a collision 
took place between a mineral train and the one on 
which she was riding. A number of passengers were 
killed, and Maggie, all crushed and broken, was found 
in the wreck. In one of her hands was a copy of 
" Sacred Songs and Solos," opened at her favorite 
hymn, " There is a gate that stands ajar," the page of 
which was stained with her heart's blood. She was 
carried into a cottage near the station, where she lin- 
gered a few days and was frequently heard to sing 
on her dying couch the chorus of the hymn so dear 
to her, " For me, for me ! was left ajar for me ! " 

In commemoration of this event, which touched 
me deeply, I wrote my first hymn, " Home at last," 
which I also set to music. 

An affecting incident was related by one of the 
colporteurs of the Christian Colportage Association 
for England. " I called at a house in B — , where 
lived two aged people who were invalids. I had called 
several times before, but could never sell them any 
books or command their attention to hear about good 
things. On this occasion I began to sing, ' There is 
a gate that stands ajar.' When I came to the chorus, 
' Oh, depth of mercy,' I saw a tear in the old lady's 
eye, and I stopped. But she said : ' Go on ; that is a 
nice song.' I continued, but before I had finished 
she burst into tears, asking, ' Is that mercy for me ? ' 
I then talked to them both about Jesus and prayed 



214 Sankeys Story 

with them. They bought the hymn-book containing 
the song, and earnestly begged me to come again as 
soon as possible. I have visited them every month. 
Last week, when I called I found the poor woman 
dying ; but when her husband told her I had come, she 
said : ' I want to see him, tell him to come in.' She 
could hardly speak, but she said in a whisper : ' Do 
sing my favorite.' I knew which one she meant, and 
sang very softly, 

'Oh, depth of mercy! can it be 
That gate was left ajar for me?' 

She tried to join me in singing, but fell back, quite 
exhausted. I could not talk much with her, she was 
so weak ; but she held my hand with a firm grasp, still 
repeating the words, ' Oh, depth of mercy! can it be? ' 
I have just heard that she has passed away, happy in 
the Saviour's love, and singing as well as she could 
that beautiful hymn." 



Lord Shaftesbury once told the following story : 
" A young woman had wandered away from home and 
parents. One day, while listening to the Gospel, she 
was so impressed that she resolved to return home. 
She started, and on reaching the house found the door 
unfastened, and she walked upstairs to her mother. 
' Mother,' she asked, ' how was it that I found the 
door open ? ' ' My girl,' replied the mother, ' that 
door has never been closed since you have been away ; 
I thought that some night my poor girl would 
return.' " 



Of the Gospel Hymns 2 1 5 

The Harbor Bell 

Words by John H. Yates Music by Ira D. Sanlcey 

" Our life is like a stormy sea — 
Swept by the gales of sin and grief." 

John H. Yates, a humble layman who lived at 
Batavia, New York, wrote this hymn after reading the 
following incident in a newspaper : " We were nearing 
a dangerous coast, and the night was drawing near. 
Suddenly a heavy fog settled down upon us. No 
lights had been sighted, and the pilot seemed anxious 
and troubled, not knowing how soon we might be 
dashed to pieces on the hidden rocks along the shore. 
The whistle was blown loud and hard, but no response 
was heard. The captain ordered the engines to be 
stopped, and for some time we drifted about on the 
waves. Suddenly the pilot cried, ' Hark ! ' Far away 
in the distance we heard the welcome tones of the har- 
bor bell, which seemed to say, ' This way, this way ! ' 
Again the engines were started, and, guided by the 
welcome sound, we entered the harbor in safety." 

On receiving this hymn from Mr. Yates, in 1891, 
I at once set it to music. It has been found useful 
in meetings for sailors and fishermen. 

The King is Coming 

Words by Ira D. Sankey Music by Ira D. Sankey 

"Rejoice! Rejoice! our King is coming! 
And the time will not be long." 

During one of my trips to Great Britain, on " The 
City of Rome," a storm raged on the sea. The wind 
was howling through the rigging, and waves like 



216 Sankey's Story 

mountains of foam were breaking over the bow of the 
vessel. A great fear had fallen upon the passengers. 
When the storm was at its worst we all thought that 
we might soon go to the bottom of the sea. The con- 
viction came to me that the Lord would be with us in 
the trying hour, and, sitting down in the reading room, 
I composed this hymn. Before reaching England the 
tune had formed itself in my mind, and on arriving 
in London I wrote it out and had it published in 
" Sacred Songs and Solos." It has been much em- 
ployed in England in connection with sermons on the 
second coming of Christ, and was frequently used 
by Mr. Moody. 

The Mistakes of My Life 

Words by Mrs. Urania Locke Bailey Music by Robert Lowry 

" The mistakes of my life have been many, 
The sins of my heart have been more." 

While we were holding meetings in Boston, in 
1876, Mr. Moody was entertained by one of the lead- 
ing lawyers of the city, who frequently before the 
meetings would ask what solo I had selected. If I 
had none, he would say : "Please sing, ' The mistakes 
of my life have been many ' ; for one of the greatest 
mistakes I have ever made was to ignore God in all 
my affairs. But at last he took away my only child, a 
beloved son. That led me to the feet of Jesus, and I 
bowed to kiss the hand that had laid the rod upon me. 
Then I told the Lord that I would devote my fortune 
to his service. In keeping with that promise I erected 
a college for young women, located at Wellesley Lake, 
near Boston." This good man has now passed on to 



Of the Gospel Hymns 2 1 7 

his reward. Shortly before he died Mr. Moody and I 
purchased a perpetual scholarship in Wellesley Col- 
lege, as a prize to be sought after by the young women 
of Northfield Seminary. 

Written about the year 1871, this hymn was much 
used and became very popular in our meetings in Great 
Britain. 

The Model Church 

Words by John H. Yates Music by Ira D. Sankey 

" Well, wife, I've found the model church, 
And worshiped there to-day." 

I found this poem in a newspaper, wrote the music 
for it, and sang it for the first time at a meeting for 
ministers and Christian workers at Atlanta, Georgia, 
conducted by Mr. Moody. It has been repeatedly 
used as a solo in meetings gathered for the discussion 
of the subject, " How to reach the masses." Once, in 
Buffalo, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Yates of 
Batavia, New York ; and I urged him to devote more 
of his time to writing Gospel hymns. He has since 
written several popular songs, one of the most suc- 
cessful being " Faith is the Victory," which I published 
in " The Christian Endeavor Hymnbook." 
<^ 

A poor little girl, living in an alley of the slum 
district of Chicago, was used in a remarkable way for 
the conversion of a commercial traveler. He had re- 
ceived instructions, his trunks filled with samples had 
been sent to the depot, and hurried good-byes had 
been said. With gripsack in hand, he took a short-cut 
to the station through one of the filthy alleys of the 



218 Sankeys Story 

city. He saw a great number of half-clad children, 
whose only home was a wretched basement or illy- 
ventilated tenement. As he passed, one little waif was 
singing at the top of her voice : 

"There'll be no sorrow there." 

" Where ?" said the thoughtless salesman. 

" In heaven above, where all is love, there'll be no sorrow 
there," 

sang the little girl. 

The answer, the singer, the far-away heaven with 
no sorrow there, lodged in his heart. The fast-flying 
train soon left behind the hurry and the bustle of city 
life, but the answer of the little singing waif was taken 
up and repeated by the rapid revolution of the car- 
wheels. He could not forget the singer and the song, 
nor could he rest until he cried for mercy at the Cross. 
It was one of the many fulfilments of the promise, " A 
little child shall lead them." 

The Ninety and Nine 

Words by E. C. Clephane Music by Ira D. Sankey 

" There were ninety and nine that safely lay 
In the shelter of the fold." 

It was in the year 1874 that the poem, " The 
Ninety and Nine," was discovered, set to music, and 
sent out upon its world-wide mission. Its discovery 
seemed as if by chance, but I cannot regard it other- 
wise than providential. Mr. Moody had just been con- 
ducting a series of meetings in Glasgow, and I had 
been assisting him in his work as director of the sing- 



Of the Gospel Hymns 219 

ing. We were at the railway station at Glasgow and 
about to take the train for Edinburgh, whither we were 
going upon an urgent invitation of ministers to hold 
three days of meetings there before going into the 
Highlands. We had held a three months' series in 
Edinburgh just previous to our four months' campaign 
in Glasgow. As we were about to board the train I 
bought a weekly newspaper, for a penny. Being much 
fatigued by our incessant labors at Glasgow, and in- 
tending to begin work immediately upon our arrival at 
Edinburgh, we did not travel second- or third-class, as 
was our custom, but sought the seclusion and rest 
which a first-class railway carriage in Great Britain 
affords. In the hope of finding news from America I 
began perusing my lately purchased newspaper. This 
hope, however, was doomed to disappointment, as the 
only thing in its columns to remind an American of 
home and native land was a sermon by Henry Ward 
Beecher. 

I threw the paper down, but shortly before arriv- 
ing in Edinburgh I picked it up again with a view to 
reading the advertisements. While thus engaged my 
eyes fell upon a little piece of poetry in a corner of the 
paper. I carefully read it over, and at once made up 
my mind that this would make a great hymn for evan- 
gelistic work — if it had a tune. So impressed was I 
that I called Mr. Moody's attention to it, and he asked 
me to read it to him. This I proceeded to do with all 
the vim and energy at my command. After I had fin- 
ished I looked at my friend Moody to see what the 
effect had been, only to discover that he had not heard 
a word, so absorbed was he in a letter which he had 



220 San key's Story 

received from Chicago. My chagrin can be better 
imagined than described. Notwithstanding this ex- 
perience, I cut out the poem and placed it in my musi- 
cal scrap-book — which, by the way, has been the seed- 
plot from which sprang many of the Gospel songs that 
are now known throughout the world. 

At the noon meeting on the second day, held at the 
Free Assembly Hall, the subject presented by Mr. 
Moody and other speakers was " The Good Shepherd." 
When Mr. Moody had finished speaking he called upon 
Dr. Bonar to say a few words. He spoke only a few 
minutes, but with great power, thrilling the immense 
audience by his fervid eloquence. At the conclusion 
of Dr. Bonar's words Mr. Moody turned to me with 
the question, " Have you a solo appropriate for this 
subject, with which to close the service?" I had noth- 
ing suitable in mind, and was greatly troubled to know 
what to do. The Twenty-third Psalm occurred to me, 
but this had been sung several times in the meeting. 
I knew that every Scotchman in the audience would 
join me if I sang that, so I could not possibly render 
this favorite psalm as a solo. At this moment I 
seemed to hear a voice saying: " Sing the hymn you 
found on the train !" But I thought this impossible, as 
no music had ever been written for that hymn. Again 
the impression came strongly upon me that I must 
sing the beautiful and appropriate words I had found 
the day before, and placing the little newspaper slip on 
the organ in front of me, I lifted my heart in prayer, 
asking God to help me so to sing that the people might 
hear and understand. Laying my hands upon the 
organ I struck the key of A flat, and began to sing. 



Of the Gospel Hymns 221 

Note by note the tune was given, which has not 
been changed from that day to this. As the singing 
ceased a great sigh seemed to go up from the meeting, 
and I knew that the song had reached the hearts of 
my Scotch audience. Mr. Moody was greatly moved. 
Leaving the pulpit, he came down to where I was 
seated. Leaning over the organ, he looked at the 
little newspaper slip from which the song had been 
sung, and with tears in his eyes said : " Sankey, where 
did you get that hymn? I never heard the like of it 
in my life." I was also moved to tears and arose and 
replied : " Mr. Moody, that's the hymn I read to you 
yesterday on the train, which you did not hear." Then 
Mr. Moody raised his hand and pronounced the bene- 
diction, and the meeting closed. Thus " The Ninety 
and Nine " was born. 

A short time afterward I received, at Dundee, a 
letter from a lady who had been present at the meet- 
ing, thanking me for having sung her deceased sister's 
words. From correspondence that followed I learned 
that the author of the poem was Elizabeth C. Clephane, 
a resident of Melrose, Scotland, one of three sisters, all 
members of a refined Christian family. She was 
born in Edinburgh in 1830. Her sister, in describing 
Elizabeth, says : " She was a very quiet little child, 
shrinking from notice and always absorbed in books. 
The loss of both parents, at an early age, taught her 
sorrow. As she grew up she was recognized as the 
cleverest of the family. She was first in her class and 
a favorite with the teacher. Her love for poetry was a 
passion. Among the sick and suffering she won the 
name of ' My Sunbeam.' She wrote ' The Ninety and 



222 Sankeys Story 

Nine ' for a friend, who had it published in ' The Chil- 
dren's Hour.' It was copied from thence into various 
publications, but was comparatively little noticed. She 
died in 1869." 

When Mr. Moody and I returned from England, 
in 1875, we held our first meeting on a Sunday after- 
noon in front of the old Congregational church in the 
village of Northfield, Massachusetts, Mr. Moody's 
home. On reaching the church we found it overflow- 
ing, and more people surrounding the church outside 
than were inside. Mr. Moody, when entering the 
pulpit, said : " I always speak to the largest crowd, and 
as it is outside, I will speak from the front of the 
church." The congregation retired to the open air, 
and the small cabinet organ was carried to a position on 
a small porch in front of the church, where it was 
placed with just room enough for me to take my seat. 
After a few of the congregational hymns had been 
sung, Air. Moody announced that I would sing " The 
Ninety and Nine." Nearly opposite the church, across 
the river, a man was seated on his porch. He had 
refused to attend the service in the village, and was 
quite angry because his family and neighbors had all 
gone to the meeting. But the singing of this song 
leached him, and two weeks later he attended a prayer - 
meeting at a small school-house near his home, where 
he rose and said that he had heard a song which 
greatly troubled him, sung by Mr. Sankey at the meet- 
ing held in the open air at Northfield, and that he 
wished the Christians to pray for him. This they did, 
and he became converted. He then removed to North- 



Of the Gospel Hy?itns 223 

field and joined Mr. Moody in his work in connection 
with the schools, where he continued for many years. 
On the occasion of laying the corner-stone for 
the new Congregational church in Northfield, Mr. 
Moody asked me to stand on the corner-stone and sing 
" The Ninety and Nine " without the organ accompani- 
ment, as he hoped that this church would be one whose 
mission it would be to seek the lost ones. While I 
was singing, Mr. Caldwell, the man who had heard 
the song across the river, lay dying in his cottage near 
Mr. Moody's home. Calling his wife to his bedside, he 
asked her to open the south window, as he thought he 
heard singing. Together they listened to the same 
song which had been used to lead him into the way of 
life. In a little while he passed away to join the Shep- 
herd in the upper fold. 

At the close of our meetings at Newcastle-on-Tyne 
one of the most efficient workers in connection with 
our services, Mrs. Claphin, decided to go to the Con- 
tinent for a season of rest. When passing through 
London she purchased a large number of the penny 
edition of " Sacred Songs and Solos," for distribution 
on the way. At the Grand Hotel, in Paris, she left a 
number of them on the reading-table, with a prayer 
for God's blessing upon those who might find them 
there. A few weeks later she visited Geneva, Switz- 
erland, and while attending a prayer-meeting there 
one evening, the minister of the church told a touching 
story about a young English lady, who was a member 
of his church. She had received a letter from a long- 
lost brother, who was ill at the Grand Hotel in Paris. 



224 Sankeys Story 

The young lady asked her physician if he would allow 
her to go to see her brother. The physician said : 
" You will die if you do." She replied : " I will die if 
I don't." A few days later she started for Paris, and 
on reaching the Grand Hotel she was taken to the room 
where her dying brother lay. After a warm greeting 
he took from under the pillow a copy of "Sacred 
Songs and Solos," and pointing to " The Ninety and 
Nine," said : " This hymn was the means of bringing 
me to Christ." Mrs. Claphin, who was in the audience 
and heard this story related, thanked God for having 
put it into her heart to distribute the little hymn-books. 

A friend sends me the following : " One day I 
was talking with a woman of the most abandoned sort, 
who had hardened her heart by many years of 
drunkenness and sin. Nothing I could say made any 
impression on her. When I was about to give up, our 
old Scotch cook, who was fond of poetry, began to sing : 

' But none of the ransomed ever knew 
How deep were the waters crossed; 
Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through, 
Ere he found His sheep that was lost.' 

She was in the kitchen, and was not aware that any 
one was within hearing. Her rich Scotch brogue lent 
charm to the verse, and it seemed a message from God. 
For the poor woman to whom I had been talking, and 
who was so hardened a moment before, burst into 
tears, and falling on her knees, began to pray to the 
Good Shepherd to receive her. She was converted, 
and has often testified to the fact that the song led 
her to Christ." 



Of the Gospel Hymns 225 

Mr. Blane, of South Africa, relates : " I knew a 
young man who was the only unconverted member of 
his family. At home he was constantly hearing of 
Christ, and being asked to accept him as his Saviour. 
He determined to rid himself of all home restraint, 
and to enjoy himself by making a tour of the Conti- 
nent. He set out, and for some time all went well. At 
one of the hotels at which he stayed there was an old 
Christian woman. As was her constant habit, having 
first obtained the consent of the proprietor, she went 
from room to room, leaving upon the table of each a 
little tract or book. She entered this young man's 
room, and with a prayer to God for guidance, took out 
a small copy of Sankey's hymns, opening it at the one 
beginning, 

' There were ninety and nine that safely lay 
In the shelter of the fold.' 

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit she took her 
pencil and drew a stroke under the words of the third 
line, ' One was out on the hills away.' Soon the young 
man entered his room, and at once the book caught his 
eye. He went over and read the penciled line. Like 
a flash the image of his home came up before him, and 
all the dear ones there, until his stony heart was 
broken. Throwing himself upon his knees, he cried 
for mercy and besought the Father to receive him for 
Christ's sake. Soon the answer came, and he rose to 
his feet a new man in Christ Jesus." 



Mr. Thomas Leigh, of Liverpool, who assisted in 
our meetings in that city, writes me as follows : " At 



226 Sankeys Story 

your first mission in Liverpool an old man, between 
seventy and eighty, was converted through your sing- 
ing 'There were ninety and nine.' He lived for a 
number of years afterward, and was a bright worker 
and gave a clear testimony. During the remainder of 
his life he went by the name of ' Ninety and Nine.' " 

From South America, only last November, came 
this testimony from a former co-worker : " Many 
years ago, in 1884, I had the pleasure of meeting you. 
I was then a member of your London choir, and helped 
in speaking to souls at the after-meetings of those won- 
derful gatherings you and dear Mr. Moody held in 
London in that year. Now, more than twenty years 
after, I am out here, where God in his grace has given 
me the privilege of witnessing for him for the last 
sixteen years. I can not tell you the blessing that the 
translations of your hymns into Spanish have been 
here. I send you a copy of our hymn-book, in which 
I have collected a large number of songs, the great 
majority having against them ' S. S.,' signifying 
' Sacred Songs and Solos.' These are translations, 
adaptations or tunes of your collection. I am sure God 
has graciously used these hymns in blessing many 
souls. Only this afternoon, while I was out visiting 
some new converts, I heard of the case of a woman 
converted through the singing of a Spanish transla- 
tion of ' There were ninety and nine.' Some time ago 
a man, who was a bad character, was spoken to by a 
colporteur, and he had a desire to read the Bible. He 
lost his work for a day and a half while he hunted in 
the different book-shops for a Bible. At last he got 



Of the Gospel Hymns 227 

one, and commenced reading it. He came to our open- 
air meetings, followed us into one of our halls, and 
was soon converted. He was so thankful to the Lord 
for what he had done for him that he asked us to 
come and have meetings in his house. The result has 
been that at least twelve of his relatives and neigh- 
bors have been converted. Not long ago a woman 
came into the meeting in his house in a careless, laugh- 
ing way. The hymn I have referred to was being sung. 
The Spirit of God convicted her then and there, and 
she burst into tears and cried to God for mercy, say- 
ing that she was ' that lost sheep, out on the moun- 
tains.' She found peace, and now her husband is 
converted, and they are bright and earnest Christians." 

The Shining Shore 

Words by the Rev. David Nelson Music by George F. Root 

" My days are gliding swiftly by, 
And I, a pilgrim stranger." 

Mr. Nelson was a surgeon in the army during the 
War of 1812. Afterward he entered the ministry, 
preached in Tennessee and Kentucky, and later moved 
to Missouri, where he opened a plantation. There he 
heard an address on the evils of slavery that changed 
his views. " I will live on roast potatoes and salt 
before I will hold slaves !" he declared. He advocated 
colonization of the negroes. This brought down upon 
him the wrath of his slave-holding neighbors, who 
drove him from his home and pursued him through the 
woods and swamps for three days and nights. Finally 
he came out on the banks of the Mississippi River 
opposite Quincy, Illinois. By signs he made known 



228 Sankey's Story 

his condition to friends there, and then hid in the 
bushes to await the approach of night. As he lay 
there in danger of being captured every moment, the 
land of freedom in plain sight, with the swiftly gliding 
waters between, the lines of this hymn began to assume 
form in his mind, and he wrote them down on the 
back of a letter he had in his pocket. The voices of 
the vengeful pursuers were heard in the woods about 
him. Once they strode by the very clump of bushes in 
which he was concealed, and even poked their guns in 
to separate the branches ; but they failed to notice him. 
Several members of the Congregational church of 
Quincy came over in the evening in a canoe, and began 
fishing near his hiding-place. When they had located 
this exactly they gave a signal, and drawing near to 
the shore, met him as he rushed down to the water's 
edge. They got him safely to the Illinois side, but 
were discovered and followed by the slaveholders, 
who demanded his surrender. But they were informed 
that Mr. Nelson was now in a free State, and that 
nothing should molest him. In Illinois he was em- 
ployed by the Home Missionary Society, and continued 
to take an active part in the anti-slavery agitation of 
those times. He died in 1844. 

As to the music of this hymn Mr. Root says : 
' One day, I remember, as I was working at a set of 
graded part-songs for singing classes, mother passed 
through the room and laid a slip from one of the re- 
ligious newspapers before me, saying ; ' George, I 
think that would be good for music.' I looked at the 
poem, which began, ' My days are gliding swiftly by,' 
and a simple melody sang itself along in my mind as I 



Of the Gospel Hymns 229 

read. I jotted it down and went on with my work. 
That was the origin of the music of 'The Shining 
Shore.' Later, when I took up the melody to har- 
monize it, it seemed so very simple and commonplace 
that I hesitated about setting the other parts to it. I 
finally decided that it might be useful to somebody, and 
I completed it, though it was not printed until some 
months afterward. In after years I examined it in an 
endeavor to account for its great popularity — but in 
vain. To the musician there is not one reason in 
melody or harmony, scientifically regarded, for such a 
fact. To him hundreds of others, now forgotten, were 
better." 

This was a favorite hymn of Henry Ward Beecher. 

The Smitten Rock 

Words by George C. Needham Music by Ira D. Sankey 

" From the riven Rock there floweth 
Living water ever clear." 

" When Mr. Sankey lived at Cohasset, Massachu- 
setts, in the summer of 1876, after the great Boston 
meetings, he very naturally desired to bring the Gospel 
to the people living in that neighborhood. Accord- 
ingly he invited me," wrote Mr. Needham on one 
occasion, "to spend a week with him in a series of 
evangelistic meetings. Before the breakfast-hour one 
morning, while Mr. Sankey was playing on his organ, I 
remarked : ' I wish we had a good hymn on The Smitten 
Rock, as I hope to speak on that subject to-night.' 
Mr. Sankey replied with enthusiasm : ' Here is a new 
hymn which came to me last night in my sleep ; I be- 



230 Sankey s Story 

lieve the Lord gave it to me. I wish I had words for 
it. Why don't you write a piece on The Rock?' I 
replied, ' Why, I can't write such a hymn as you want, 
and you know that I don't understand music ; how to 
fit words to your music would puzzle an unmusical 
man.' The enthusiastic soloist, still playing, said: 
' You'll find pen and paper on the table ; this is a stir- 
ring tune and I want the words; try your hand at it.' 
I immediately sat down and asked the Lord's special 
help, and then wrote the hymn as it now appears. Mr. 
Sankey took the paper, with the ink scarcely dry on it, 
and sang it through with the chorus — the new air and 
the words exactly fitting, without alteration or amend- 
ment. ' I think the Lord gave you the words as truly 
as he gave me the tune,' was Mr. Sankey's first remark. 
And then we commended the little piece and its music 
to the great Master, praying that the unction of the 
Holy One might rest upon it. Mr. Sankey sang the 
hymn for the first time in public that evening, after I 
had given my address on The Smitten Rock." 

The Solid Rock 

Woids by the Rev. Edward Mote Music by William B. Bradbury 

" My hope is built on nothing less 
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness." 

" I went astray from my youth," said the author 
of this hymn. " My Sundays were spent on the streets 
in play. So ignorant was I that I did not know there 
was a God." He was a cabinet-maker, and was con- 
verted under the preaching of the Rev. John Hyatt. 
The refrain came into the author's mind one morning in 
1834, as he was walking up Holborn Hill, London, on 



Of the Gospel Hymns 231 

his way to work. Four stanzas were completed that 
day and two more on the following Sunday. In 1852 
Mr. Mote became the pastor of a Baptist church in 
Horsham, Sussex, where he continued to minister for 
more than twenty years. In his eighty-first year his 
health declined. " I think I am going to heaven," he 
said ; " yes, I am nearing port. The truths I have 
preached I am now living upon, and they will do to die 
upon. Ah ! the precious blood ! The precious blood 
which takes away all our sins ; it is this which makes 
peace with God." And so he passed peacefully away, 
his hope "built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and 
righteousness." 

The Sweet Story of Old 

Words by Mrs. Jemima Luke Music by J. C. Englebrecht 

" I think when I read that sweet story of old, 
When Jesus was here among men." 

" In the year 1841 I went to the Normal Infant 
School in Gray's Inn Road to obtain some knowledge 
of the system," writes Mrs. Luke. " Mary Moffat, 
afterwards Mrs. Livingstone, was there at the same 
time, and Sarah Roby, whom Mr. and Mrs. Moffat had 
rescued in infancy when buried alive, and had brought 
up with their own children. Among the marching 
pieces at Gray's Inn Road was a Greek air, the pathos 
of which took my fancy, and I searched Watts and 
Jane Taylor and several Sunday-school hymn-books for 
words to suit the measure but in vain. Having been 
recalled home, I went one day on some missionary 
business to the little town of Wellington, five miles 
from Taunton, in a stage-coach. It was a beautiful 



232 Sankey's Story 

spring morning ; it was an hour's ride, and there was 
no other inside passenger. On the back of an old 
envelope I wrote in pencil the first two of the verses 
now so well known, in order to teach the tune to the 
village school supported by my step-mother, and which 
it was my province to visit. The third verse was added 
afterward to make it a missionary hymn. My father 
superintended the Sunday-school in which we taught, 
and used to let the children choose the first hymn. 
One Sunday the children started their new hymn. My 
father turned to his younger daughters and said, 
' Where did that come from ? I never heard it before.' 
1 Oh, Jemima made it,' they replied. Next day he 
asked for a copy, and sent it, without my knowledge, 
to ' The Sunday-School Teachers' Magazine.' But 
for this it would probably never have appeared in 
print." Mrs. Luke adds regarding her composition: 
" It was a little inspiration from above, and not ' in 
me,' for I have never written other verses worthy of 
preservation." 

There is a Fountain 

Words by the Rev. William Cowper Music by Dr. Lowell Mason 

" There is a fountain filled with blood, 
Drawn from Immanuel's veins." 

Born of a personal experience when the author 
was forty years old, this hymn of faith for more than 
a century has been eminently useful in the practical 
work of evangelizing the world. 

Along the streets of Glasgow, shortly after our 
first visit to Scotland, a little boy passed one evening, 
singing " There is a fountain filled with blood." A 



Of the Gospel Hymns 233 

Christian policeman joined in the song, and when he 
had finished his beat he asked the boy if he understood 
what he was singing. " Oh, yes," said the little fellow, 
" I know it in my heart, and it is very precious." A 
few evenings afterward some one asked the policeman : 
" Do you know that a woman standing where we are, 
was awakened and saved the other night by hearing, 
' There is a fountain,' sung by a policeman and a boy?" 
**> 
A lieutenant in the Union army, having received 
his death-wound in a gallant charge at the head of his 
regiment, was visited in the hospital by the chaplain, 
who inquired how he felt. He said he had always been 
cheerful, and was now ready to meet God in peace. 
" Chaplain," he added, " I was passing through the 
streets of New York once on a Sunday night, and I 
heard singing. I went in and saw a company of poor 
people. They were singing ' There is a fountain filled 
with blood.' I was overpowered with the impression 
the hymn made upon me, and I gave my heart to God. 
Since then I have loved Jesus, and I love him now." 
That was his last speech. 

There is a Green Hill far away 

Words by Cecil F. Alexander Music by George C. Stebbins 

" There is a green hill far away, 
Without a city wall." 

While holding meetings with Mr. Moody, at Car- 
diff, Wales, in 1883, I visited the ruins of Tintern 
Abbey with Professor Drummond. While there I 
sang this song, which the professor said to me was 
one of the finest hymns in the English language. A 



234 Sankeys Story 

number of years later I sang it on the green hill be- 
lieved to be Calvary, outside the walls of Jerusalem. 

Mrs. Alexander was the widow of an English cler- 
gyman. She first published " There is a green hill far 
away " in her " Hymns for Little Children " in 1848. 
It is a popular children's hymn in England. Mr. Steb- 
bins set it to a new tune in 1878. Mrs. Alexander, 
who was born in Ireland in 1823, wrote about four 
hundred hymns and poems for children. 

There'll be no Dark Valley 

Words by the Rev. W. O. Cushing Music by Ira D. Sankey 

" There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes, 
There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes." 

One night during the Boxer revolt, when the Chi- 
nese had set fire to many buildings and it seemed as 
though all the missionaries and native Christians in a 
besieged city would be destroyed, the children belong- 
ing to the Junior Christian Endeavor Society held a 
meeting in a chapel. While the cracklings of the 
flames, the sharp report of the Chinese guns, and the 
cries of men and women running to and fro were 
rending the air, these little disciples of Jesus were 
singing: "There'll be no dark valley when Jesus 
comes." 

A missionary, working in the slums of a city in 
Ireland, writes me as follows: "I feel constrained to 
thank you from the bottom of my soul for all the great 
blessings I have received from singing your songs. 

I am a worker in the slums of , and I find that your 

songs reach the hearts of fallen men and women before 



Of the Gospel Hymns 235 

anything else. I have just returned home from our 
meeting, and the message I sang to-night was your 
sweet song: 'There'll be no dark valley when Jesus 
comes.' I want to thank you in particular for this 
song, because it presents death to us in such a glorious 
way. The old Welsh people used to speak and sing 
of death as something very fearful — a dark river, great 
waves and so on — and I remember my dear mother 
singing all the Welsh hymns referring to death, until I 
shuddered. But, praise the Lord, I know now that 
it is different. Your little song has confirmed this 
belief in me not only, but in many, many more souls." 
1^ 

I arranged this hymn from the words which Mr. 
W. O. Cushing wrote for me, of which, however, I 
used only the first line, " There'll be no dark valley 
when Jesus comes." It has of late become quite a 
favorite throughout the country. 

There's a Light in the Valley 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Bliss 

" Through the valley of the shadow I must go, 
Where the cold waves of Jordan roll." 

" Some years ago I was in the dark," a young lady 
of London told me, " and was seeking the Lord day 
and night ; but I could get no rest or peace for my soul. 
For two or three weeks the title of ' There's a Light in 
the Valley ' kept ringing in my ears. I had never care- 
fully read through the hymn, but in my constant plead- 
ings with the Lord I always begged for this light of 
the valley to be given to me. And one night Christ 
gave the light I had been asking for. I cannot de- 



236 Sankey s Story 

scribe my joy when I could say, ' There is a light in 
the valley for me.' I scarcely slept that night, for the 
words would come to me again and again. It is now 
my privilege, sometimes, to help sing them for others, 
and then they seem to bring a fresh wave of my Sav- 
iour's love to me, as they did on that blessed night." 

Throw Out the Life-Line 

Words and Music by the Rev. E. S. Ufford Arr. by Geo. C. Stebbins 

" Throw out the Life-Line across the dark wave, 
There is a brother whom some one should save." 

The author of this famous hymn, while living in 
Massachusetts near the ocean, one day saw a vessel 
wrecked near the shore, and this suggested the idea 
of the song. Mr. Stebbins shortly afterward, about 
1889, obtained it from the author, and made a number 
of changes in Mr. Ufford's harmony. From Mr. Steb- 
bins I secured it for publication in " Gospel Hymns " 
and in " Sacred Songs and Solos." It became one of 
the most useful of evangelistic hymns, and was often 
sung with effect at our meetings in Great Britain. 
-^ 

A Christian commercial traveler has just sent me 
this word : " A few of us were holding a street meeting 
at Warsaw, Indiana, last August. ' Throw out the 
Life-Line ' had been sung, and a man spoke as follows : 
' I live at North Tonawanda, on the Niagara River. 
Some time ago my son was walking toward home 
when he heard a scream from the river. He rushed 
down and saw a young lady struggling in the water, 
being swept down the river. He hurriedly took off 
his coat, vest and shoes, jumped in, swam to the lady, 



Of the Gospel Hymns 237 

took hold of her and called to some men, who were 
farther down the river, to throw out a life-line. The 
men heard the voice, saw the man and woman being 
swept down the river, and hastily threw out a line to 
them. But it was just about three feet too short. My 
son and the woman were swept over the falls and 
both were drowned.' There were two or three hun- 
dred people at this street meeting, and the speaker 
made the application that we should be sure that our 
life-line is long enough to reach the people we are 
after. It was a very effective service, and resulted in 
at least one conversion." 

Professor Drummond told me this story, and 
made his own application of it : " On the coast of Spain 
a great storm was raging, and a wrecked vessel came 
drifting near the light-house. The cries of the perish- 
ing seamen were heard in the darkness. The light- 
house keeper, in making his report to the government 
— which was required by law in the case of a wreck — 
said : ' We rendered all possible aid from the top of 
the light-house with the speaking trumpet ; notwith- 
standing, the next morning twenty corpses were found 
on the shore and the vessel had disappeared.' This is 
too often the case in our preaching. We get into a 
high pulpit and shout at the top of our voices, but we 
seldom take the life-line in our hands and go down to 
those who are perishing in the waves of sin, to rescue 
them ere it is too late." 

A man on an Atlantic steamer told me another 
story, which in its way illustrates the song : " One 
stormy night at sea a cry was raised on board a 



238 Sa?ikeys Story 

steamer, ' Man overboard ; man overboard ! ' A num- 
ber of the alarmed passengers ran to the captain and 
begged him to stop the vessel. He roughly told them 
to mind their own business and not to bother him. As 
he said this a seaman ran up to the bridge and cried 
that the man who had gone overboard was the captain's 
brother. This made a great difference to the captain. 
He at once reversed the vessel, rushed to the stern, 
seized a life-line, and threw it as far as he could 
toward the drowning man, hoping that he might be 
able to lay hold of it. Fortunately the man seized the 
line, and, tying it around his body, cried : ' Pull away, 
pull away ! ' The captain cried, ' Have you hold of 
the line?' A faint answer came back, 'The line has 
hold of me.' In a little while the man was drawn on 
board and saved." 

To-day the Saviour Calls 

Words by S. F. Smith Music by Lowell Ma?on 

"To-day the Saviour calls; 
Ye wand'rers, come." 

For inducing immediate acceptance of the offer of 
salvation through faith in Christ this hymn has been 
of great value. In one of his sermons Mr. Moody 
refers to my singing it on a night never to be for- 
gotten : 

" For four or five nights in succession I had been 
preaching in Chicago on the subject of ' The Life of 
Christ,' and we had followed him from the cradle to 
the judgment hall of Pilate. I have always felt that 
on that night I made one of the greatest mistakes of 
my life. How often I have wished that I could call 



Of the Gospel Hymns 239 

back what I said to the congregation at the close of 
the meeting on that memorable night of the Chicago 
fire ! That night I spoke from the text, ' What shall 
I do with Jesus ? ' and as I closed I said : ' Now I want 
you to take this question home with you, think it over, 
and next Sunday night I want you to come back here 
and tell me what you are going to do with Jesus.' 
What a mistake ! I gave them a week to decide ; but 
I never met that audience again. Even then the huge 
bell of the court-house near by was tolling out what 
proved to be the death-knell of the city. How well I 
remember the hymn Mr. Sankey sang as a solo at the 
closing moment of that meeting, as his voice rang out : 

'To-day the Saviour calls; for refuge fly; 
The storm of justice falls, and death is nigh.' 

It seemed almost prophetic. It was the last verse sung 
in that beautiful hall. We closed the meeting and 
went out into the streets, never to meet again. It is 
estimated that a thousand lives were lost that night. 
As many of them were lost near Farwell Hall, it may 
have been that some who heard me say that night, 
' Take a week to decide the question,' were among the 
lost ones." 

To the Work 

Words by Fanny J. Crosby Music by W. H. Doane 

"To the work! to the work! we are servants of God, 
Let us follow the path that our Master has trod." 

Fanny Crosby wrote the words of this hymn in 
1869, and it was set to music by W. H. Doane two 
years later. I sang it for the first time in the home 
of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Cornell at Long Branch. The 



240 Sankey's Story 

servants gathered from all parts of the house while 
I was singing, and looked into the parlor where I was 
seated. When I was through one of them said : " That 
is the finest hymn I have heard for a long time ; won't 
you please sing it over again? " I felt that this was a 
test case, and that if the hymn had such power over 
those servants it would be useful in reaching other 
people as well ; so I published it in " Gospel Hymns " 
in 1875, where it became one of the best work-songs 
for our meetings that we had. 



Trust and Obey 

Words by the Rev. J. H. Sammis Music by D. B. Towner 

" When we walk with the Lord, 
In the light of his Word." 

" Some years ago," says Professor Towner, mu- 
sical director of the Moody Bible Institute, " Mr. 
Moody was conducting a series of meetings in Brock- 
ton, Massachusetts, and I had the pleasure of singing 
for him there. One night a young man rose in a testi- 
mony meeting and said, ' I am not quite sure — but I 
am going to trust, and I am going to obey.' I just 
jotted that sentence down, and sent it with the little 
story to the Rev. J. H. Sammis, a Presbyterian min- 
ister. He wrote the hymn, and the tune was born. 
The chorus, 

' Trust and obey, 

For there's no other way 

To be happy in Jesus 

But to trust and obey,' 

was written before the hymn was." 



Of the Gospel Hymns 241 

Trusting Jesus, That is All 

Words by E. P. Stites Music by Ira D. Sankey 

" Simply trusting every day, 
Trusting through a stormy way." 

" About two years ago," writes a minister, " I 
visited a woman who was suffering from an incurable 
disease ; but great as was her agony of body, her dis- 
tress of mind was greater still. One day she said : 
' The future is so dark, I dare not look forward at 
all.' 

" To my question, ' Can't you trust yourself in 
God's hands?' she replied: ' No, I can't leave myself 
there.' 

" I repeated the hymn, ' Simply trusting ev'ry 
day,' and especially dwelt on the refrain, ' Trusting 
as the moments fly, trusting as the days go by.' ' Ah,' 
she said, ' I can trust him this moment ; is it like that? ' 
T then sang the hymn to her, and the change that came 
ever her was wonderful. She never lost this trust, 
and she had the page in her hymn-book turned down, 
that she might have the hymn read to her. After 
many months of intense suffering she passed away, 
' simply trusting,' to the land where there shall be no 

more pain." 

/^ 

The words of this hymn were handed to Mr. 
Moody at Chicago, in 1876, in the form of a news- 
paper clipping. He gave them to me, and asked me 
to write a tune for them. I assented, on condition 
that he should vouch for the doctrine taught in the 
verses, and he said he would. 



242 Sankey's Siory 

Under His Wings 

Words by the Rev. W. O. Gushing Music by Ira D. Sankey 

"Under His wings I am safely abiding; 
Though the night deepens and tempests are wild." 

As Mr. Moody used to approach the seminary 
building at Northfield, Massachusetts, to conduct the 
morning worship, the young ladies there would join 
in the singing of this hymn as he entered the room. 
It was one of their popular hymns, as it was also of 
the Estey Quartet made up of the leading singers of 
the seminary. 

The music of this hymn was one of my last com- 
positions. 

-^ 

A young man in a hospital in Western Massachu- 
setts was once visited by a minister, and after he had 
prayed, the invalid asked him to sing his favorite song, 
'' Under His Wings," saying that it had been the 
means of his conversion. The hymn was sung, and 
in a short time the listener had passed away to the 
shelter under his Master's wings. 

Verily, Verily 

Words by James McGranahan Music by James McGranahan 

" O what a Saviour that He died for me! 
From condemnation He hath made me free." 

" About twenty years ago," writes the Rev. James 
Sprunt, of London, " Mrs. S — one evening left her 
home, near Blandford Square, to visit some of her 
friends. She was disappointed to find that they were 
not at home. She called upon others, but they also 



Of the Gospel Hymns 243 

had gone out. Vexed in mind and weary in body she 
was returning to her home. Passing the doors of 
Omega Hall, she was invited to the service then being 
held inside. She entered, and enjoyed the service, 
especially the singing of ' O what a Saviour, that He 
died for me ! ' This was good news to her soul. By 
the Spirit of God she had been taught her lost condi- 
tion. What was she to do ? She had been told in 
the Hall to repent and believe the Gospel, to accept 
Christ as her Saviour, and to rest her soul on the fin- 
ished work of Calvary's cross. She heard all this, but 
did not obey. But when she retired that night her 
mind could not rest. During her sleep she dreamed 
that she was in the meeting and had again joined in 
the hymn, ' O, what a Saviour, that He died for me ! ' 
and with the dreamy singing she awoke to say, not 
in a dream and not in unbelief, but with true faith in 
God's Son, ' From condemnation He hath made me 
free.' " 

Waiting and Watching for Me 

Words by Marianne Hearn Music by P. P. Bliss 

" When my final farewell to the world I have said, 
And gladly lie down to my rest." 

At one of Mr. Moody's meetings in Farwell Hall, 
Chicago, this testimony was given on one occasion : 
" For many years past I have been an infidel, and often 
lectured to audiences in opposition to the Bible. To- 
day, in the presence of all you who see me, I declare 
that I am a converted man. I owe the softening of 
my hitherto stony heart to a Gospel hymn sung by 
Mr. Bliss, the refrain of which is, ' Will any one then, 



244 Sankeys Story 

at the beautiful gate, be waiting and watching for 
me?' It reminded me so tenderly of my Christian 
wife, parents, brothers, sisters and children who have 
gone before me that it quite broke me down ; and now 
Christ and the Word have become my best hope and 
stronghold." 

Welcome ! Wanderer, Welcome ! 

Words by Horatius Bonar Music by Ira D. Sankey 

" In the land of strangers, 
Whither thou art gone." 

" An editor of a paper in the South," says one 
who was connected with the Florence Mission at the 
time this incident occurred, " lost all through drink 
and dissipation, and one day left his wife and five 
children to look after themselves. Without bidding 
them good-bye he left home, determined not to re- 
turn until he was a man and could live a sober life. 
In New York he sank still lower. One night he 
pawned some of his clothing; but soon he was again 
penniless and had no place to sleep. He then wrote 
a note to his wife, bidding her good-bye, saying they 
would never see each other again, as he had decided 
to die that night. He was walking toward East 
River when the sound of music attracted his attention. 
He looked up and saw the sign, ' The Florence.' That 
was the name of his oldest daughter. He listened ; a 
lady was singing a song his wife used to sing on Sun- 
day afternoons at home, words that went to his heart, 
1 In the land of strangers, whither thou art gone, 

Hear a far voice calling, "My son, My son! 

Welcome! wanderer, welcome! Welcome back to home! 

Thou hast wandered far away: Come home, come home! " ' 



Of the Gospel Hymns 245 

The song, coupled with the name that was his daugh- 
ter's, led him to think we were praying for him. He 
came in, drunk as he was, and asked us to do so. He 
became a convert and an earnest Christian worker, and 
has held a position of responsibility in business for 
many years, he and his family having been reunited." 

Written for me by Dr. Bonar, in 1874, this hymn 
became the favorite song of the choir of over fifteen 
hundred voices, led by Percy S. Foster, at our meet- 
ings in the great Convention Hall in Washington dur- 
ing the winter of 1894. 

What a Friend We have in Jesus 

Words by Joseph Scriven Music by Charles C. Converse 

" What a friend we have in Jesus, 
All our sins and griefs to bear." 

Thousands have been cheered in time of trouble, 
and so led nearer to Christ, by this sweet and simple 
hymn ; for very few hymns have been more widely 
published or more frequently sung. The author was 
born in Dublin in 1820, and came to Canada when he 
was twenty-five. There he lived a useful life until 
his death in 1886. The young lady to whom he was 
to be married was accidentally drowned on the eve 
of their wedding day. This led him to consecrate his 
life and fortune to the service of Christ. Though a 
graduate of Trinity College and a man of refinement, 
he chose humble duties. One afternoon he was seen 
walking down the streets of Port Hope where he 
lived, dressed as a plain workingman and carrying a 



246 Sankeys Story 

saw-horse and a saw on his mission of help. A citi- 
zen, noticing that a friend recognized him, said: 

" Do you know that man ? What is his name and 
where does he live? I want some one to cut wood, 
and I find it difficult to get a sober man to do the work 
faithfully." 

" But you can't get that man," was the reply. 
" That is Mr. Scriven. He won't cut wood for you." 

" Why not ? " queried the gentleman. 

" Because you are able to pay for it. He only 
saws wood for poor widows and sick people." 

Until a short time before his death it was not 
known that he had a poetic gift. A neighbor, sitting 
up with him in his illness, happened upon a manuscript 
copy of " What a friend we have in Jesus." Reading 
it with great delight and questioning Mr. Scriven 
about it, he said that he had composed it for his 
mother, to comfort her in a time of special sorrow, 
not intending that any one else should see it. Some 
time later, when another Port Hope neighbor asked 
him if it was true that he composed the hymn, his 
reply was : " The Lord and I did it between us." 
^> 

Returning from England in 1875, I soon became 
associated with P. P. Bliss in the publication of what 
later became known as " Gospel Hymns No. 1." 
After we had given the completed compilation to our 
publishers I chanced to pick up a small paper-covered 
pamphlet of Sunday-school hymns, published at Rich- 
mond, Virginia. I discovered this and sang it 
through, and determined to have it appear in " Gospel 
Hymns." As the composer of the music was my 



Of the Gospel Hymns 247 

friend C. C. Converse, I withdrew from the collection 
one of his compositions and substituted for it, " What 
a friend we have in Jesus." Thus the last hymn that 
went into the book became one of the first in favor. 

As published in the small Richmond hymnal, the 
authorship of the words was erroneously attributed 
to the great Scotch preacher and hymn-writer, Dr. 
Horatius Bonar. We were in error, also, in assign- 
ing the words to him. Some years afterward Dr. 
Bonar informed us that he was not the author, and 
that he did not know who wrote it. It was not until 
six or eight years after the hymn first appeared in 
our collection that we learned who the author really 



"What must it be to be There ? 

Words by Mrs. Elizabeth Mills Music by George C. Stebbins 

" We speak of the land of the blest, 
A country so bright and so fair." 

" You see that I am still in the land of the 
dying," wrote Philip Phillips, " The Singing Pilgrim," 
shortly before his death at Delaware, Ohio. " Why 
I linger so long is to me a problem. The precious 
Saviour is more to me than I ever expected when I 
was well. Often during the night seasons I have real 
visions ; I am walking on the banks of the Beautiful 
River, and getting glimpses of the bright Beyond. The 
lines that come most often to me are these : 

'We speak of the land of the blest, 
A country so bright and so fair, 
And oft are its glories confest, 
But what must it be to be there?' 



248 Sankeys Story 

Blessed be God ! I shall soon know. What a singing 
time we will have when we get there !" 

What Shall the Harvest Be ? 

Words by Emily S. Oakey Music by P. P. Bliss 

" Sowing the seed by the daylight fair, 
Sowing the seed by the noonday glare." 

In the winter of 1876 Mr. Moody and I were 
holding meetings in Chicago in a large building owned 
by John V. Farwell, one of Mr. Moody's first and 
most valued friends in that city. It was our custom 
to hold temperance-meetings on Friday afternoons. 
At one of these meetings the following testimony was 
given : 

" At the breaking out of the war in 1861 I en- 
listed in the army and was soon appointed a first lieu- 
tenant. I was not yet eighteen and had never been 
away from home influences. I had never tasted liquor 
and did not know one card from another. The regi- 
ment to which I was assigned was principally officered 
by young men, but many of them were old in dissi- 
pation. This new life was attractive to me, and I 
entered upon it with avidity. I was soon a steady 
drinker and a constant card-player. I laughed at the 
caution of the older heads, and asserted with all the 
egotism of a boy that I could abandon my bad habits 
at any time I wanted to. But I soon found that my 
evil desires had complete control over my will. In 
1870, being a physical wreck, I resigned, and deter- 
mined to begin a new life. Time and again I failed, 
and at last I gave up all hope and abandoned myself 
to the wildest debauchery, speculating with reckless 



Of the Gospel Hymns 249 

indifference on how much longer my body could en- 
dure the strain. In anticipation of sudden death I 
destroyed all evidences of my identity, so that my 
friends might never know the dog's death I had died. 
It was while in this condition that I one day wandered 
into this Tabernacle and found a seat in the gallery. 
There I sat in my drunken and dazed condition, look- 
ing down upon well-dressed and happy people. I 
concluded that it was no place for me, and was just 
about to go out, when out of a perfect stillness rose the 
voice of Mr. Sankey singing the song, ' What Shall 
the Harvest be?' The words and music stirred me 
with a strange sensation. I listened till the third verse 
had been sung: 

' Sowing the seed of a lingering pain, 
Sowing the seed of a maddened brain, 
Sowing the seed of a tarnished name, 
Sowing the seed of eternal shame; 
Oh, what shall the harvest be?' 

These words pierced my heart. In desperation I 
rushed downstairs and out into the snowy streets. I 
soon found a saloon, where I asked for liquor to drown 
my sorrow. On every bottle in the bar-room, in 
words of burning fire, I could read ' What shall the 
harvest be ? ' When I took up my glass to drink I 
read, written on it, ' What shall the harvest be ? ' and 
I dashed it to the floor and rushed out again into the 
cold, dark night. The song still followed me wherever 
I went, and finally drew me back to the Tabernacle 
two weeks later. I found my way into the inquiry- 
room and was spoken to by a kind-hearted, loving 
brother. With his open Bible he pointed me to the 



250 Sankeys Story 

Great Physician who had power to cure me and heal 
me of my appetite, if I would only receive him. 
Broken, weak, vile and helpless, I came to him, and 
by his grace I was able to accept him as my Re- 
deemer ; and I have come here to-day to bear my tes- 
timony to the power of Jesus to save to the utter- 
most." 

We were all deeply touched by this testimony, 
and there was scarcely a dry eye in the audience. A 
week later this man came into our waiting-room and 
showed me a letter from his little daughter, which 
read about as follows : 

" Dear Papa : Mamma and I saw in the Chicago 
papers that a man had been saved in the meetings 
there, who was once a lieutenant in the army, and I 
told mamma that I thought it was my papa. Please 
write to us as soon as you can, as mamma cannot be- 
lieve that it was you." 

This letter was received by the man at the gen- 
eral post-office. The mother and their two children 
were sent for, and with the help of Mr. Moody a home 
was soon secured for them and employment for the 
man. He was asked to go to many places to give his 
experience, and he soon became so effective in his 
addresses that his friends prevailed upon him to study 
for the ministry. Eventually he became pastor of a 
large church in the Northwest, where he labored for 
a number of years till his death, in Evanston, Illinois, 
in 1899. His name was W. O. Lattimore. He wrote 
a hymn for me, entitled, " Out of the darkness into 
light," which I set to music. 

The author of " What shall the harvest be ? " who 



Of the Gospel Hymns 251 

was born at Albany, was a frail, delicate woman, al- 
ways an invalid, never having known, as she once said, 
an hour of health in all her life. 



When Jesus Comes 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Bliss 

" Down life's dark vale we wander, 
Till Jesus comes." 

One day in 1872 Mr. Bliss heard a conversation 
between two of his friends, who were speaking on 
the subject of the return of our Lord. One of the 
ladies quoted a line from a work of Anna Shipton, 
" This may be the day of His coming," and spoke of 
the joy and comfort the thought gave her. Mr. Bliss 
was much impressed, more deeply than ever before, 
as to the reality of this subject; and a few days after 
as he was coming downstairs from his room, still oc- 
cupied with the thought of looking for Christ's ap- 
pearing, he commenced singing, " Down life's dark 
vale we wander," the words and music coming to him 
as he took the successive steps down the stairs. He 
at once wrote it down just as we have it to-day in 
" Gospel Hymns." 

"When the Mists have Rolled Away 

Words by Annie Herbert Music by Ira D. Sankey 

" When the mists have rolled in splendor 
From the beauty of the hills." 

I sang this hymn for the first time in The Free 
Trade Hall, in Manchester, in 1874, at one of Mr. 
Moody's meetings. The service was held at eight 



252 Sankeys Story 

o'clock on a gloomy winter morning. The hall was 
densely crowded and rilled with mist, so much so that 
the people could hardly be discerned at the farther end 
of the hall. I felt the need of something to brighten 
up the meeting, and then and there decided to launch 
this new song. It was received with much enthusi- 
asm, and at once became a favorite of Mr. Moody's, 
and continued to be so until his death. 

When the Roll is Called up Yonder 

Words by J. M. Black Music by J. M. Black 

" When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall 
be no more, 
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair." 

" While a teacher in a Sunday-school and presi- 
dent of a young people's society," says the author of 
this hymn, " I one day met a girl, fourteen years old, 
poorly clad and the child of a drunkard. She accepted 
my invitation to attend the Sunday-school, and joined 
the young people's society. One evening at a conse- 
cration-meeting, when members answered the roll- 
call by repeating Scripture texts, she failed to respond. 
I spoke of what a sad thing it would be, when our 
names are called from the Lamb's Book of Life, if 
one of us should be absent ; and I said, ' O God, when 
my own name is called up yonder, may I be there to 
respond ! ' I longed for something suitable to sing 
just then, but I could find nothing in the books. We 
closed the meeting, and on my way home I was still 
wishing that there might be ? song that could be sung 
on such occasions. The thought came to me, ' Why 
don't you make it ? ' I dismissed the idea, thinking 



Of the Gospel Hymns 253 

that I could never write such a hymn. When I 
reached my house my wife saw that I was deeply trou- 
bled, and questioned me, but I made no reply. Then 
the words of the first stanza came to me in full. 
In fifteen minutes more I had composed the other 
two verses. Going to the piano, I played the music 
just as it is found to-day in the hymn-books, note for 
note, and I have never dared to change a single word 
or a note of the piece since." 

"Where is My Boy to-Night? 

Words by Robert Lowry Music by Robert Lowry 

" Where is my wandering boy to-night — 
The boy of my tenderest care?" 

A mother came to me in Boston and asked me if 
I would try to find her wandering boy in California 
when I should go there with Mr. Moody to hold meet- 
ings. I promised to do what I could. For several 
weeks, as opportunity presented itself, I searched the 
cheap boarding-houses for the young man. At last 
I found him in the slums of the city and asked him 
to come to our meetings. He refused, saying that 
he was not fit to be seen there ; but after much per- 
suasion he came. One evening I sang: "Where is 
my wandering boy," and prefaced it with a few re- 
marks, saying that I knew of one dear mother in the 
East who was praying for her wandering boy to-night. 
This, together with the song, touched the young man's 
heart, and he found his way into the inquiry-room, 
where, with my open Bible, I was enabled by God's 
grace to lead him into the light. I wrote to his mother 
and told her that her boy had been found, and that 



254 Sankeys Story 

he was now a professed Christian. She sent me money 
to pay his railway fare back to Boston, and in a short 
time he had reached home and received a hearty wel- 
come. He soon found employment, and became a use- 
ful citizen, and has since been a follower of Christ. 

" I heard Chancellor Sims relate," states the Rev. 
H. B. Gibbud, " that he was once traveling with a man 
from the West who was on his way to visit his father, 
whom he had left years before when he was a boy. 
There had been trouble between them, and the father 
had told the son that he could go. In his anger the 
boy said that he would, and that he would never re- 
turn. He had gone West, where he became a wealthy 
ranch owner ; but he had never written to his father 
and had held the anger in his heart toward him all 
those years. Then he told the Chancellor how it was 
that he was now returning. A train on which he had 
been traveling had been snowed in, and people living 
near had made up a load of provisions and taken them 
to the imprisoned passengers. Then it was discov- 
ered that Mr. Sankey was on board, and at the peo- 
ple's request he came out on the steps and sang: 
' Where is my wandering boy ? ' That song touched 
this man's heart, led him to God, and he was now 
going East to seek reconciliation with his parents." 
.^ 

A wayward boy was brought by a friend to the 
evening service of the Rev. J. H. Byers, of Stanberry, 
Missouri. Having learned something of his condition, 
Mr. Byers asked the leader of the choir to sing as a 
solo : " Where is my wandering boy to-night ? " which 



Of the Gospel Hymns 255 

he did with great feeling. The boy was converted, 
the next evening he united with the church, and he 
has continued to be an active, praying worker ever 
since. The young man's parents were devoted Chris- 
tions. On the same night and until the next after- 
noon, for what was an unknown reason to them, they 
were led to pray most earnestly for their lost boy. 
During the time when the prayer-meeting was being 
held, they were comforted, and believed that they 
would hear good news. In a few hours they received 
a telegram that their boy was saved. At the meeting 
where this hymn was sung there were present the 
parents of two other boys who had left their homes, 
and as the solo was sung they prayed that their boys 
might be saved and brought home. In a few days let- 
ters were received from those boys, telling their par- 
ents that they were saved on the night when the solo 
was sung and the prayers were sent up for them. 

The author of this hymn, which has done more 
to bring back wandering boys than any other, became 
a follower of Christ at the age of seventeen. After a 
score of years in different pastorates he accepted the 
professorship of letters in his alma mater, Bucknell 
University, together with the pastorate of another 
church. This double service he performed for six 
years, and then moved to Plainfield, New Jersey, 
where he lived until his death, in 1899, at the age of 
seventy-three. Dr. Lowry will continue to preach the 
Gospel in his hymns long after his sermons have been 
forgotten. Many of his hymns were written after 
the Sunday evening service, when his body was weary 
but his mind refused to rest. 



256 Sankey's Story 

Whiter Than Snow 

Words by James Nicholson Music by Wm. G. Fischer 

"Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole; 
I want Thee forever to live in my soul." 

" In the spring of 1893," relates the Rev. Mr. 
Bradley, a Methodist minister in Utah, " a lady who 
had come from Ireland as a Mormon immigrant sev- 
eral years before, was brought under very pungent 
conviction of sin, which lasted for several days. She 
attended our services several times, but seemed to get 
no relief. On the following Monday morning, while 
she was about her work as usual, the burden had be- 
come almost unbearable. As she worked she began to 
sing, ' Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole ;' and 
when she came to the closing words, ' To those who 
sought Thee, Thou never saidst No,' a feeling came 
over her like a flash, she says, that He would not say 
' No ' to her. From that moment the burden was 
lifted and she was filled with joy." 
<%* 

Mr. Fischer, the composer, was a resident of Phil- 
adelphia, and in 1876 was the leader of the Moody 
and Sankey choir in the great building at Thirteenth 
and Market streets, in that city. 

"Whosoever Will 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Bliss 

"'Whosoever heareth,' shout, shout the sound! 
Send the blessed tidings all the world around." 

Henry Moorehouse, the English evangelist, 
preached seven sermons on John 3 : 16 in Chicago 
during the winter of 1869-70. Those sermons made 



Of the Gospel Hymns 257 

a very deep impression on Mr. Bliss, Mr. Moody and 
others, and from that time a new and clearer view 
of the love of God was experienced by many who 
went forth to preach — perhaps not less about the law, 
but surely more about the boundless love of God in 
Jesus Christ. As an outcome of this experience the 
hymn was written at that time. In singing it, Bliss 
put special emphasis on the word " whosoever." So he 
helped many a man to believe in the magnificent offer 
of salvation, and — like Richard Baxter, the famous 
London preacher — to praise the Lord. " I thank 
God," he said, " for the word ' whosoever.' If God 
had said that there was mercy for Richard Baxter, I 
am so vile a sinner that I would have thought he 
meant some other Richard Baxter; but when he says 
■ whosoever,' I know that it includes me, the worst of 
all Richard Baxters." 

Why not To-night? 

Words by Eliza Reed Music by Ira D. Sankey 

" Oh, do not let the Word depart, 
And close thine eyes against the light." 

A tram-car man was passing along the broadway 
at Deptford, England, where some Christians were 
singing at an open-air meeting, 

" Oh, do not let the Word depart, 

Nor close thine eyes against the light; 
Poor sinner, harden not thy heart, 
Thou would'st be saved — Why not to-night?" 

He felt the force of the appeal and hastened home to 
pray. Though he knelt down and plead earnestly, 
no light, or peace, or rest came. A fortnight passed 



258 Sankey's Story 

away in this state of uncertainty, and on the following 
Sunday he was so miserable that he could not go to 
his work on the tram-car. In the evening he went to 
a chapel and remained for the prayer-meeting. The 
leader of the open-air meeting, in which the hymn was 
sung a fortnight before, happened to be present, and 
he saw the young man weeping and covering his face 
with his handkerchief. Praying the Lord to give him 
a word for this troubled soul, the leader asked : " Are 
you trusting Christ ? " " No, but I am seeking Him," 
the man replied. And there he found Him, to the joy 
of his soul. Thus, in the providence of God, the 
Christian worker who was the cause of producing the 
anxiety, without knowing at the time any of the cir- 
cumstances, was also the means of removing it. This 
is but one of the numerous instances of the usefulness 
of " Why not To-night ? " in evangelistic meetings. 

"Windows open toward Jerusalem 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Bliss 

"Do you see the Hebrew captive kneeling, 
At morning, noon and night, to pray?" 

While attending a Sunday service at the State 
Prison in Joliet, Illinois, where he had gone to sing, 
P. P. Bliss heard H. G. Spafford of Chicago, who 
wrote "It is well with my soul," address the prisoners, 
and use Daniel in Babylon as an illustration of Gospel 
truth, asking the question in closing, " Are your win- 
dows open toward Jerusalem ? " This suggested the 
hymn to Mr. Bliss. 

About a month before his death Mr. Bliss came to 
Chicago to attend a convention called by Mr. Moody, 



Of the Gospel Hymns 259 

and there, at a morning meeting, where over a thou- 
sand ministers were present, he sang, " Are your win- 
dows open toward Jerusalem?" with intense spiritual 
feeling. One minister cried out : " God bless Mr. 
Bliss for that song ! " His face fairly shone as he 
sang, and half of those present were in tears under 
the influence of the song. Mr. Moody, filled with 
emotion, leaned his head forward upon the desk. It 
was the last time he heard his beloved friend and 
brother sing. 

I often used to sing this song as a solo in connec- 
tion with Mr. Moody's lectures on the prophet Daniel. 

"Wonderful Words of Life 

Words by P. P. Bliss Music by P. P. Bliss 

" Sing them over again to me, 
Wonderful words of Life." 

" While visiting an old man, who suffered much 
from rheumatic gout," narrates a Methodist minister 
of Birmingham, England, " I was led to start up, 
' Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of 
Life.' When I had finished and while the tears were 
coursing down his cheeks, he exclaimed, ' Oh, sing 
them over again to me, those wonderful words of life ! 
for they take my pain away.' And so I repeated that 
God-sent message to the poor old sufferer, who soon 
afterward passed away to the land where there is no 
more pain. 

" On another occasion this hymn became very 
useful to me. I was preaching to a crowded audience 
at Dartmouth on a Sunday evening, when a young 
man fell from his seat near the pulpit, and the service 



260 Sankeys Story 

was in danger because of the confusion. I started 
singing, ' Wonderful Words of Life,' in which the 
whole congregation joined heartily. By the time we 
had sung the hymn through the young man had re- 
covered consciousness and found his seat again, lis- 
tening earnestly to my sermon on the theme, ' In God's 
Word there are spirit and life.' Those present thought 
his case a living illustration of the song and sermon." 

Ye Must be Born Again 

Words by W. T. Sleeper Music by George C. Stebbins 

"A ruler once came to Jesus by night, 
To ask Him the way of salvation and light;" 

" One evening in November, 1886," says the 
superintendent of a boys' school, " I was walking 
along a street in St. Joseph, Missouri, when I saw be- 
fore me a great crowd gathered around a door. On 
coming nearer I saw that it was at the entrance of 
the hall of the Young Men's Christian Association. 
In the doorway stood some young men, singing. Just 
as I came near enough to hear they began to sing : 

' A ruler once came to Jesus by night, 
To ask Him the way of salvation and light; 
The Master made answer in words true and plain, 
Ye must be born again, again.' 

When they came to the chorus the sword of the Spirit 
entered my soul. It seemed to me that I was brought 
face to face with the Lord Jesus. There on the street, 
while that song was being sung, I asked him to teach 
me how to be born again — and he did it. I accepted 
an invitation to the service for the evening, and after 
that service, for the first time in my life, I publicly 



Of the Gospel Hymns 261 

acknowledged Christ as my Saviour. I have always 
considered that it was through the influence of that 
hymn that my soul was awakened. Many times have 
I thanked God for the song, as well as for the courage 
he gave to his disciples to sing it in that public way." 



Many years ago an English evangelist sent me 
this incident : " We were holding evangelistic meet- 
ings," he said, " in a town in Perthshire, and there 
was one who helped us more effectually than we 
were at first aware of. I hardly know how we be- 
came acquainted with ' Blind Aggie ;' for, besides 
being old and blind, she was a great sufferer and could 
seldom creep beyond her doorstep. We were 
strangers in the place and no one told us of her; yet 
in the providence of God one of our party was led to 
visit her little room, discovering what a saint she was 
and how deeply interested in all she had heard about 
our intended meetings. She helped us mightily by 
prayer, and as far as she could by individual work. 
Lodging in the same flat with blind Aggie was a seam- 
stress — a poor, giddy, foolish girl — in whom she took 
a deep interest. With great difficulty she persuaded 
this girl to attend one of our meetings. While the 
girl was at the meeting Aggie was praying for a bless- 
ing upon her; and when she returned Aggie asked 
many questions, but to her sorrow could not find that 
any impression had been made on the young woman's 
heart. The good old woman induced the thoughtless 
girl to go again, and when she returned the second 
time it was late, and blind Aggie had already gone to 
bed. But the girl burst into the old woman's room 



262 Sankeys Story 

crying : ' Oh, Aggie, where are you ? I must tell you ! ' 
' Well, dear, what is it ? Come and tell me.' ' Oh, 
but I want a light first, I canna tell ye in the dark.' 
Though Aggie never had use for a candle, she told 
the girl where to find one. After it was lighted the 
girl burst forth from a full heart : ' Oh, Aggie, woman, 
I didna laugh this time ! They sang a hymn, and it 
kept saying, ' Ye must be born again,' and it just laid 
hold on me, Aggie, and oh! I'm born again! Jesus 
has taken me, Aggie ! " 

" On a Sunday evening," relates a young lady of 
Dunfermline, Scotland, " I went with a companion to 
take a walk in the public park, when our attention was 
drawn to an open-air meeting. While we were stand- 
ing there listening, the hymn 'Ye Must be Born Again' 
was given out and sung. Two lines of the last verse, 

' A dear one in heaven thy heart yearns to see 
At the beautiful gate may be watching for thee,' 

took a firm hold on me, and I felt that I must be born 
again, for I never could get there of myself. That 
night I went to the meeting and decided for Christ, 
and ever since that hymn has been very dear to me." 

Yet There is Room 

Words by Horatius Bonar Music by Ira D. Sankey 

" ' Yet there is room!' The Lamb's bright hall of song, 
With its fair glory, beckons thee along." 

Dr. Bonar wrote this hymn at my request. I had 
been singing Tennyson's great poem, "Late, late, so 
late, and dark the night and chill," at our meetings in 



Of the Gospel Hyimis 263 

Great Britain, in 1873-74, and, on asking permission 
of the owners of the copyright to use it in my collec- 
tion of songs, was refused. I then requested Dr. 
Bonar to write a hymn that should cover much the 
same ground. " Yet there is room " was the result. 
It was one of the first hymns for which I wrote music. 
It always had a very solemnizing effect on the meet- 
ings, especially when the last lines were sung : " No 
room, no room — oh, woful cry, ' No room.' " 

Yield Not to Temptation 

Words by H. R. Palmer Music by H. R. Palmer 

" Yield not to temptation, 
For yielding is sin;" 

Mr. Palmer says : " This song was an inspiration. 
I was at work on the dry subject of ' Theory ' when 
the complete idea flashed upon me, and I laid aside 
the theoretical work and hurriedly penned both words 
and music as fast as I could write them. I submitted 
them to the criticism of a friend afterward, and some 
changes were made in the third stanza, but the first 
two are exactly as they came to me. The music was 
first written in A flat ; but I soon saw that B flat was 
better, and for many years it has appeared in that key. 
I am reverently thankful it has been a power for good." 

A friend contributes this incident : " Twenty 
years ago, when the State prison at Sing Sing, New 
York, had women as well as men within its walls, a 
lady used to visit the women's department. Every 
Sunday afternoon the inmates were permitted to come 
out and sit in the corridor to hear her talk, and to sing 



264 Sankeys Story 

hymns with her. One day some of the women re- 
belled against an order of the matron, and a terrible 
scene followed. Screams, threats, ribaldry and pro- 
fanity filled the air. It was said, by those who knew, 
that an uprising among the women prisoners was 
worse and more difficult to quell than one among the 
men. The matron hastily sent to the men's depart- 
ment for help. Suddenly a voice rose clear and strong 
above the tumult, singing a favorite song of the pris- 
oners, 

' Yield not to temptation, 
For yielding is sin; 
Each victory will help you 

Some other to win. 
Fight manfully onward, 

Dark passions subdue; 
Look ever to Jesus, 

He'll carry you through.' 

There was a lull; then one after another joined in the 
sacred song ; and presently, with one accord, all formed 
into line and marched quietly to their cells." 

«%* 

A minister who at the time was laboring there, 
writes me that when Dr. Somerville, of Scotland, and 
Mr. Varley, of England, were in New Zealand, in the 
seventies, in connection with Young Men's Christian 
Association work, many young men found strength for 
life's temptations in the first lines of this hymn, which 
was sung at every meeting for months. 

" Some twenty-four years ago," writes James A. 
Watson, of Blackburn, England, " the Presbyterian 
church of England was preparing to issue a new book 



Of the Gospel Hymns 265 

of praise, ' The Church Praise,' now in use. I was 
asked to send in a suitable list of hymns for the young. 
Among the number I sent ' Yield not to temptation,' 
but to my regret, when I got a draft copy of the pro- 
posed hymn-book, that hymn was not in it. Three or 
four Sundays afterward I was requested by the 
teacher of the infant class in the St. George's School, 
where I have been superintendent for over forty years, 
to visit a dying boy. I found him unconscious. All 
that his widowed mother could tell me about him was 
that he had kept saying: 'He'll carry me through.' 
When I asked her if she knew what he meant, she told 
me that she did not. She did not attend church or 
school. I told her that it was the chorus of a hymn, 
and pointed out how the good Shepherd was carrying 
her little boy through the valley ; how he was gather- 
ing her lamb in his loving arms. I also told her that 
the Saviour would carry her through her trouble, 
would comfort, strengthen and keep her, and at last 
bring her to the happy land where death-divided ones 
will meet to part no more. I was so much impressed 
by the incident that I wrote to the convener of the 
hymn-book committee, and pleaded for the insertion 
of the hymn in the new book. The committee put it 
in, and for twenty-three years the young people of 
our Presbyterian church have been able to sing it when 
wanted, all through the comfort it had been to a little 
dying boy, the only son of a widow, on a back street 
of Blackburn." 



INDEX 

Titles in Small Capitals. First lines in Roman 

A. 

A Mighty Fortress 55 

A Ruler once came to Jesus by night 260 

A Shelter in the Time oe Storm 56 

A Sinner Forgiven 57 

Abide With Me 58 

Alas! and did my Saviour bleed? 67 

All to Christ I Owe 59 

Almost Persuaded 62 

Are You Coming Home To-Night 64 

Arise, My Soul, Arise 65 

Art Thou Weary? 65 

Asleep in Jesus 66 

At the Cross 67 

B. 

Beautieul River 68 

Beautiful Valley oe Eden 71 

Beneath the Cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand. . 210 

Beulah Land 71 

Blest be the Tie that Binds 73 

Blessed Assurance 7 2 

Brightly beams our Father's mercy 138 

Brother, art thou worn and weary 81 

C. 

Calling Now 74 

Come 75 

Come Believing 75 

Come, every soul by sin oppressed 162 

Come, Great Deliverer, Come 76 

Come, Sinner, Come 76 

Come, Thou Fount 78 

Come to the Saviour 79 

Come Unto Me 80 

Come Unto Me, and Rest 81 

Consecration 82 

267 



268 Index 



D. 

Dare to be a Daniel 84 

Dark is the Night 84 

Depth of Mercy 84 

Do you see the Hebrew captive kneeling 258 

Down in the valley with my Saviour I would go 92 

Down life's dark vale we wander 251 

Doxology 86 

Dying with Jesus, by death reckoned mine 140 

E. 

Eternity 88 

Even Me 91 

Evening Prayer 89 

F. 

Follow On 92 

From Greenland's icy mountains 140 

From the riven Rock there floweth 229 

G. 

Go Bury Thy Sorrow 92 

God Be With You 94 

H. 

Hallelujah, 'tis Done 95 

Hallelujah, What a Saviour , . 96 

Hark ! the voice of Jesus crying, — 98 

Have you on the Lord believed? 142 

He Knows 97 

He Leadeth Me 97 

Here Am I, Send Me 98 

Hiding in Thee 99 

Ho ! my comrades, see the signal 100 

Ho! Reapers of Life's Harvest 99 

Hold the Fort 100 

Home of the Soul 106 

How Firm a Foundation 107 

I. 

I am far frae my hame, an' I'm weary aften-whiles 143 

I Am Praying for You 108 

I am so glad that our Father in heaven 126 

I feel like singing all the time 191 

I Gave My Life for Thee no 

I have a Saviour, He's pleading in glory 108 

I have read of a beautiful city 153 

I hear the Saviour say 59 

I Hear Thy Welcome Voice in 



Index 269 

I know not the hour when my Lord will come 207 

I know not what awaits me 97 

I Love to Tell the Story 114 

I Need Thee Every Hour 115 

I think when I read that sweet story of old 231 

I will sing you a song of that beautiful land 106 

I'll Go Where Thou Wouldst I Should Go 113 

In the Christian's home in glory 175 

In the land of strangers 244 

In the Secret of His Presence 116 

It Is Finished 117 

It is Well With My Soul 118 

It may not be on the mountain's height 113 

I've Found a Friend 120 

I've reached the land of corn and wine 71 

Jesus, I Will Trust Thee 121 

Jesus, Lover oe My Soul 122 

Jesus Loves Even Me 126 

Jesus Loves Me 129 

Jesus, my Lord, to Thee I cry 202 

Jesus of Nazareth Passeth By 130 

Jesus, Saviour, Pilot Me! 13S 

Just as I Am 136 

L. 

Lead, Kindly Light 137 

Let the Lower Lights be Burning 138 

Let the Saviour in 139 

Let us gather up the sunbeams 189 

Light in the darkness, sailor, day is at hand 172 

Lord, I hear of showers of blessing 91 

Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole 256 

M. 

"Man of Sorrows," what a name ! 96 

Master, the tempest is raging 170 

Missionary Hymn 14° 

Moment by Moment 140 

More to Follow 14 2 

Must I Go, and Empty-Handed 142 

My Ain Countrie 143 

My Country, 'Tis of Thee 145 

My days are gliding swiftly by 227 

My Faith Looks Up to Thee 146 

My Father is rich in houses and lands 208 

My hope is built on nothing less 230 

My Jesus, I Love Thee 148 



2 jo Index 

N. 

Nearer, My God to Thee 150 

No Hope in Jesus 152 

Not Half Has Ever Been Told 153 

Not now, but in the coming years 194 

Not Now, My Child 154 

Nothing but Leaves 156 

Nothing, either great or small 117 

O. 

O Christ, what burdens bowed Thy head 197 

O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing 157 

O hear my cry, be gracious now to me 76 

O safe to the Rock that is higher than 1 99 

O what a Saviour that He died for me 242 

O word of words the sweetest 75 

Oh! do not let the Word depart 257 

Oh! tender and sweet was the Master's voice 166 

Oh, the clanging bells of Time ! 88 

Oh, to Be Nothing 158 

Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour 152 

Oh, What Are You Going to Do? 158 

On Jordan's Stormy Banks 159 

Once again the Gospel message 75 

One More Day's Work for Jesus 160 

One Sweetly Solemn Thought 161 

Only a Step to Jesus 162 

Only Trust Him 162 

Onward, Christian Soldiers 164 

Our life is like a stormy sea 215 

Out of the Shadow- Land 165 

Over the Line 166 

P. 

Pass Me Not 168 

Peace! Be Still! 170 

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow 86 

Pull for the Shore 17 2 

R. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Our King is coming 215 

Rescue the Perishing 173 

Rest for the Weary 175 

Ring the Bells of Heaven 176 

Rock of Ages 177 

S. 

Safe in the Arms of Jesus 179 

Saved by Grace 185 



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